%% Image kept on page per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1316146562066259600%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.%%[[quoteright:230:[[Franchise/{{Batman}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/funnyhowthingsturnout_6804.jpg]]]][-[[caption-width-right:225: Franchise/{{Batman}}, one of the most prominent examples of this trope in fiction. Also pictured: his [[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker foil and arch-nemesis]], who is more [[FauxAffablyEvil "Nice" is not Good]]]]-]

->''Good is not nice, polite, well-mannered, self-righteous, or naive, though good characters may be some of these things.''-->--'''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''', ''The Book of Exalted Deeds''

AffablyEvil is when a villain is polite, friendly and genuinely kind, even while plotting evil. Good Is Not Nice is the inverse of that: a character who is morally slanted toward the good side but is rude, unfriendly, and mean.

He [[ThouShaltNotKill never kills anyone if he can help it]], nor will he allow people to come to any sort of harm by ignoring them. He's always willing to go out of his way [[IncorruptiblePurePureness to save the town and complete strangers]]. When the call comes, [[ResignedToTheCall he will answer it, usually with very little protest.]] He will often help people in need with little promise of reward. In almost every way, he acts like an IdealHero.

Except that he's [[IWorkAlone asocial]] and sometimes [[LonersAreFreaks downright abusive toward most people he meets]]. He [[FigureItOutYourself may refuse to explain]] ''anything''. He may actively rebuke people who express [[ThinkNothingOfIt gratitude]], [[PowerOfFriendship friendship]], and [[ThePowerOfLove love]] as well [[DontYouDarePityMe as offers of support if he's got a problem.]]

'''There are a few reasons a person may act like this:'''* He may [[ItsAllAboutMe want to be selfish and arrogant]], or just [[HeroicNeutral unbiased to either side]], but [[ConscienceMakesYouGoBack his morality keeps on getting in the way]], even if it's to his detriment. He may put on a JerkassFacade to try to counter it.* He ''really does'' believe he's better than everyone else, and ranges from SmugSuper all the way to Arrogant Prick. After all, it's tough to be nice to people when you don't even respect them. However he still feels compelled to help these lower creatures on a regular basis.* He's [[IWorkAlone a natural loner]]. His sense of duty forces him to perform heroic acts, but he does not consider chitchat, or politeness, to be one of his duties.* He may want to be a [[NiceGuy nice person]], but believes that [[GoodIsNotSoft being nice doesn't always get things done all the time]], and that doing good requires him to do harsh and cruel acts, [[TricksterMentor particularly if he has to teach something]]. (This one may be an intermittent effect, applied only when necessary; contrast BewareTheNiceOnes, where such outbursts result from break-down. On the other hand, emotional trauma ''can'' coincide with the realization that nice won't cut it.)* [[ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies He can't afford to let others get close to him because his enemies will use them against him.]]* He or she might wish to be nice but lives so far outside normal human experience that she or he has no idea how to go about it; similarly, the hero might be autistic, or a non-human alien. * [[CrapsackWorld The world he operates in]] has [[BlackAndGrayMorality a somewhat cynical take on things]], so Strict Good Guyism doesn't work - either in the eyes of the author or in a literal in-universe sense.* He presents [[TerrorHero a harsh demeanor to intimidate enemies]].

'''Here are related tropes which are demonstrations as to how the good character isn't as nice as he appears to be:'''[[index]]* AntiHero* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim* BrutalHonesty* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough (Sergeant Rough)* CompassionateCritic* CruelToBeKind** CruelMercy* CynicalMentor* DarkShepherd* DrillSergeantNasty (if he is heroically aligned or his superior is not a GeneralRipper)* DrJerk* ExaltedTorturer* ForgivenButNotForgotten (if forgiving others doesn't equate being nice about it)* ForYourOwnGood* GoodCopBadCop (the bad one)* HolyIsNotSafe (holy powers are usually good yet just as unpleasant as evil powers)* HonestAdvisor* JerkassHasAPoint* KickTheSonOfABitch* NobleBigot** NobleBigotWithABadge* OmniscientMoralityLicense* PayEvilUntoEvil* PoliticallyIncorrectHero* PragmaticHero* ReformedButNotTamed (becoming this trope after a HeelFaceTurn)* RightlySelfRighteous* SergeantRock* ShootTheDog* SinkOrSwimMentor* SmitingEvilFeelsGood* SternTeacher* TerrorHero* ToBeLawfulOrGood (the Lawful choice)* ToughLove* TricksterMentor* WasTooHardOnHim (their feelings on this trope)* WhatTheHellHero (if used harshly)[[/index]]

Note that when handled well, this can create an interesting, complex character. When done poorly, you can end up with serious MoralDissonance, a DesignatedHero and/or even an UnintentionallyUnsympathetic character.

Compare NobleDemon, who will likely fall into this if not too morally ambiguous. Often a KnightInSourArmor, MrViceGuy, JerkWithAHeartOfGold, JerkassWoobie, or sometimes just a {{Jerkass}} who does good things. The term AntiHero is sometimes used to cover this trope. Sister trope to CreepyGood. The NaiveNewcomer may be surprised to learn he [[WartsAndAll isn't the idealized hero everyone thinks he is]]. This type of character will turn out to be a HeroWithBadPublicity.

Why Light powers can be the HolyHandGrenade even when LightIsGood.

Contrast AffablyEvil and GoodIsNotDumb. If a character acts like this exclusively towards their enemies, you've got a case of GoodIsNotSoft.

LawfulGood versions of this trope may be strict, humorless and serious. In other cases, they will put much emphasis on "Lawful" more than "Good". Very common personality flaw for ThePaladin.

See also HiddenDepths. Also see the KnightTemplar, who goes beyond merely not being "nice" into darker territory.

[[noreallife]]----!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]* Yuu Kanda from ''Manga/DGrayman'', who says often that he doesn't care about other people, but will save them and protect them, often after saying he was using them as bait.** General Cross could also fall under this one. He's brutal, but effective, and he genuinely does care about Allen when push comes to shove. Awww.* Sanzo from ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}'' is is a member of the highest priestly order in Tougenkyo and is on a mission from God... er, Buddha, to save the world. He has a knack for smacking down villains and convincing people to live again. He's also a bitchy, verbally and physically abusive {{Jerkass}}. Several main cast can fit under this trope, except [[StepfordSmiler Hakkai]].* The supposed hero Sunred in ''Manga/TentaiSenshiSunred''. He knows he's supposed to play the role of hero and does beat up villains regularly. Yet he's also a smoking, pachinko-playing jerk who mooches off his girlfriend and becomes (understandably) annoyed at Florshiem's attempts at "world domination".* L from ''Manga/DeathNote'' is on the trail of dangerous serial killer known as Kira. He's also a sugar junkie with practically NoSocialSkills and a very low opinion of most other people, who only takes up cases that interest him in order to fend off boredom. A frequently {{lampshade|Hanging}}d fact is that he and Light are NotSoDifferent.** And then there's Near, who is even more RaisedByWolves and much less subtle in regards to snarking. [[spoiler:There's endless debate over whether or not he used the Death Note to control Mikami's actions, so as to convict Light. WordOfGod also states that he "cheats"]].** Soichiro, Light's father. WordOfGod states that he is the only truly good character in the series...notwithstanding [[spoiler: holding two people (the first a civilian, the second ''his own son'') at gunpoint, actually firing - even when it's loaded with blanks - at ''point blank range'' during the latter occasion, and later still making the trade for Shinigami Eyes and attempting to write Mello's name in the notebook, only failing to write it in full because Mello asks him if he's ever killed a person before, leading to a moment of hesitation which proves his undoing.]]* Meta Knight in the ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}'' [[Anime/KirbyOfTheStars anime]] acts as a TricksterMentor to Kirby, training him and helping him, but being rather distant. Also notable: in his first appearance he speed-trained Kirby to wield a sword... by beating the crap out of him and pointing out all his mistakes. Other times he's cool and distant and generally only directly helps Kirby when his life is in danger.* Togusa in ''Manga/GhostInTheShell'', as the rookie recruited from the regular police, is the only character who is actively trying to work within the law and respect the rights of criminals. The rest of Section 9 is not above using torture and murder, but the entire country is in such a corrupt state that even Togusa usually accepts that as a necessary part of their work.* The entirety of Team Urameshi in ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''. Hiei is just plain evil ForTheEvulz (at least at first). Yusuke is [[JerkAss an ass]] towards everyone he knows, but [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold he genuinely cares about all of them,]] and [[ThePowerOfFriendship his power spikes exponentially whenever they're in danger]]. Kurama is outwardly pleasant, but he's also a DeadpanSnarker of the highest order, incredibly fond of the StealthInsult towards his less intelligent teammates, and (even by ''[[JerkAss Hiei's]]'' admission), the most ruthless fighter on the team, a trait he demonstrates when he mercilessly executes most of his enemies even after they're defeated. By contrast, Kuwabara's a borderline NiceGuy, a BoisterousBruiser [[BruiserWithASoftCenter with a soft centre.]]* Both of them are generally heroic to a fault, but ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'''s Edward Elric can be quite an arrogant jerk, in contrast to his more empathetic and polite brother Alphonse.** If people are talking about Ed Elric, Roy Mustang shouldn't be exempt by any means either.** Even more so Olivia Armstrong who is not only a jerk, but also a SocialDarwinist and is still one of the good guys as well as an epic MamaBear.** [[SinkOrSwimMentor Izumi Curtis]] thinks little of verbally and physically thrashing the Elric brothers if it means teaching them important lessons regarding Alchemy or surviving in general. Which pales in comparison to the terror she inflicts [[MamaBear upon those who threaten them or her loved ones.]]* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', all of Soul Society exhibits this trope from time to time. Incidentally, Kaname Tosen [[spoiler: defected to BigBad Sosuke Aizen]] ''because'' of this fact, believing the latter's planned world would be an improvement.** Particular examples? They merrily employ JerkAss Mayuri Kurotsuchi, a truly sadistic MadScientist who's caused the deaths of many, killed subordinates, and beat up his daughter ForScience.** Yamamoto. Has certain ideas about upholding justice and doing his job as a Soul Reaper. Can be extremely harsh in applying the law. For example, whether the order for Rukia's execution was legitimate or not he did not question the sentence. If anything, when questioned by Ukitake and Kyoraku, he emphatically supported the sentence in principle. His response to those Soul Reapers and humans who tried to save her was to order their deaths as well. He is, generally, not a terribly 'nice' person.** Byakuya and Soifon deserve a honorable mention too.** As well as Hitsugaiya, in regards to [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth Yui Toyokawa]].* [[MagnificentBastard Hiruma]] from ''Anime/{{Eyeshield 21}}'' will always take any chance to grab his [[{{Hammerspace}} endless artillery of guns]] and shoot his own teammates at any notice. However, he does care for every one of them, and will make sure that none of them get seriously hurt. Of course, his excuse is that because the Devil Bats is just such a small team, [[ItMakesSenseInContext there are barely enough competent substitutes if anyone gets hurt]].* In ''Anime/{{Slayers}}'' BlackMagicianGirl Lina Inverse is mostly [[AntiHero a self-centered, immature, avaricious and temperamental teenage girl]] with an advanced grasp on highly destructive BlackMagic. And yet, she and her team is all that stands in the way of the various ravening monsters, mad wizards and nihilistic demons that pop up over the course of the series, some of whom try to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt destroy the world]].** [[LoveFreak Amelia Seyruun]] wants to be a "[[ForGreatJustice Hero of Justice]]" but is so naive and wrapped up in stereotypes and clichés she's barely aware of what that means. She tries to do things right as she understands it, but end up either too misguided or too self-righteous. And hits this trope straight. Lina may be a black mage rarely caring of anything including moderate collateral damage, but ''her'' reaction on the thought of Amelia with [[FantasticNuke more destructive spells]] (in [[spoiler:season 1, ep. 12]]) is a bad idea, and dumb-as-a-jellyfish Gourry see why. However, her father Phil is far more adequate despite having exactly the same LoveFreak quirks and being even bigger MartialPacifist.** [[AloofBigBrother Luna Inverse]] (Lina's sister) is the Knight of Ceipheed -- the champion and host of a SoulFragment of their world's chief good deity. When foes caught Lina and put on her [[ShockCollar a circlet that zapped her with a weak lightning spell whenever she tried to use magic]], she commented "Compared with what my big sister used to put me through... ''that was nothing''". Though not without a reason [[note]]like her little business on the magical projections of Luna taking a bath[[/note]].** [[JerkassWoobie Zelgadis]], having been [[CursedWithAwesome turned into a chimera]] by his AffablyEvil bastard of a great-grandfather, fits this trope to a T, even more so than Lina. He [[WanderingTheEarth wanders from place to place searching for a cure for his condition]], often disregarding others around him; only when the world is in grave danger will he stray from his wandering ways, he ''does'' genuinely care about Lina and Gourry, and he [[ShipTease may or may not have feelings]] for Amelia. He actually subverts this trope in the original novels, as he is more of a straight-up [[JerkAss douche]], and an extra story in one of the books reveals that he actually ''wants'' to forget about his friends.** Anime-only character Filia is a [[{{Tsundere}} bad-tempered]] HolierThanThou [[GoodShepherd priestess]]. In her defense, she appears to have been raised in isolation from the wider world (and has JUST left her home for the first time as TRY starts) and her main problems are due more to [[NaiveNewcomer immaturity and naïveté]] than anything else.* Asuka Langley Soryu from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' can be quite arrogant and obnoxious, yet despite claiming to pilot her Eva only to become famous ("prove (herself) to the world"), she risks her life on countless occasions to defeat the angels/save humanity and is highly honorable (she willingly puts herself in harm's way in episode 11 to square her debt with Shinji).** Rei Ayanami also counts. A combination of being a loner, utter devotion to duty no matter how much it might suck and a rather cynical world in general make some of her attempts to be nice fall flat, especially with [[{{Tsundere}} Asuka]] or [[MadScientist Ritsuko.]]* Ban Midou from ''Manga/GetBackers''. He is ''the'' most condescending, arrogant, and insulting character in the entire thing. No one is safe from his snarking. It's even {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in the manga, where the author even says that he makes unnecessary enemies and makes people hate him for his constant taunts and insults. Thankfully, if people stick around him and get to know him long enough, they eventually get used to it and like him. Ginji surely does, huh!* Played with regarding Takeru from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''. While he is normally level-headed, nice, and affable, when something or someone presses his BerserkButton he can be [[NotHimself far less pleasant]]. The most poignant angry moments had him leaving his partner Iori with no explanation to storm off to the enemy, coldly suggesting that they kill Dark Digimon instead of redeeming them, and physically beating up Ken/the Digimon Kaiser. He is also much more irritable and dismissive during such states. However, this is addressed in the series, with Takeru recognizing that these tendencies weren't exactly healthy, and with Iori being pretty conflicted about teaming up with him more than once [[spoiler: and specifically, when they realize they're Jogress partners, but Iori doesn't know if they're up to the task]], so he's more in control in the latter half of the series.* Integra Manga/{{Hellsing}}; determined to protect the world from any threat, and perfectly willing to mouth off, insult, and snark at anyone who criticizes her, even ''the Vatican''. And '''specially''' the Vatican. Bloody Papists.** This trope is also one of the defining moments for her character. When Alucard and Seras are holed up in a hotel in Rio de Janeiro that is being swarmed by the SWAT team, which is under Millennium's control via promising immortality to the corrupt government officials in charge of the police force, there's no way for them to get out without killing innocent humans. Up until this point, Integra has scrupulously avoided this, but her hands are tied. When she receives a call from Alucard and he asks if she is willing to set him on them, she [[CrowningMomentofAwesome agrees]]. She even questions her decision after hanging up, asking Walter if she made the right choice.* As his journey progresses, Dr. Kenzo Tenma from ''Anime/{{Monster}}'' becomes more and more unhinged, and less and less interested in following the basic precepts of civility. Evident even in the beginning of the series, where he is not above manhandling people in rather unwarranted rage, this escalates into theft, coercion, and all-too-frequent death threats. Of course, he is up against a sociopath with no qualms about breaking every moral law in the book just to get at him, so some of it might be warranted.* Sakurako Sanjou from ''Manga/HanaYoriDango'' is a {{Rich|Bitch}} BitchInSheepsClothing as well as ''very'' nasty when crossed. After her HeelFaceTurn, despite having a kinder disposition, she still remains spoiled and childish.* Much to everyone's surprise, [[spoiler: '''Eva''']] turns out to be this in ''VisualNovel/UminekoNoNakuKoroNi''.* [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Setsuna F. Seiei]], before his CharacterDevelopment. Haunted by the tragedy in his childhood, he wants to prevent the same thing from happening again to other good people by destroying every single soldier with no remorse. During the first season, he's got a bad attitude, too, and has a strong desire for revenge.** [[ZetaGundam Kamille Bidan]], an angry young Newtype who frequently has trouble with authority and other people - especially [[AffablyEvil Jerid Messa]], but nevertheless holds a genuine empathy toward innocent lives who suffer [[EvilVsEvil both the oppression of the tyrannical Earth Federation and the atrocities committed by Zeon]].* Kaiser Ryo of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' is this in seasons 1 and later in season 3. In season 1, he's a loner and not very friendly, but he's willing to risk his life for his friends and brother. Season 3 features a much darker AntiHero, but he's essentially one of the "good guys" and ends up [[spoiler: sacrificing himself in order to snap Judai out of his HeroicBSOD]]* ''Manga/KeroroGunsou'' Natsumi Hinata is Earth's best of line of defense from her freeloading alien house guest. And she makes sure he knows that...''a lot''. In the most abusive ways she can think of.* Possible interpretation of Shinigami in ''Manga/SoulEater''. Some of his methods of enforcing order are decidedly questionable (Asura, the witches (especially Kim and Angela), Mifune) they're just not half as questionable as what his fellow Physical Gods, or more appropriately their associated baddies, get up to.* David of ''Anime/BloodPlus'' also counts. Early on, he beats Kai senseless to teach him a lesson about [[CrapsackWorld the kind of world they live in]], and forces Saya to fight and work with the Red Shield despite full knowledge that it's [[BreakTheCutie tearing her apart]].* Gen from ''Manga/{{Kekkaishi}}'' could be the posterboy for this trope. Masamori is a less obvious example, as he's outwardly polite, even while he's delivering a thinly veiled threat.* [[{{Tsundere}} Sakura]] and [[EmoTeen Sasuke]] from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''. While Sakura [[TookALevelInKindness eventually had]] CharacterDevelopment, Sasuke underwent a FaceHeelTurn.* The title character of ''Anime/InuYasha'' is a prime example; he starts off motivated largely by self-interest, and while CharacterDevelopment soon brings out his better nature, he remains a short-tempered, foul-mouthed JerkWithAHeartOfGold whose first solution to most problems involves violence.* Much like Inuyasha, Kyo from ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' is a case of this, especially in the anime, where he doesn't go through the CharacterDevelopment he goes through in the manga. Kyo is very aggressive and occasionally violent, especially with Momiji, but he [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold still cares for]] [[MoralityPet Tohru]].* Guts from ''{{Berserk}}''. In his backstory, he starts out as a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, but after the traumatizing events of the Golden Age arc, becomes a cruel, cold-hearted psychopath [[spoiler:who, nonetheless, is intent on avenging the deaths of his comrades and protect his now-insane lover from the demons who are constantly hunting both of them down]]. He does start to get somewhat better over the course of the series though.* Piccolo from ''Manga/DragonBall''. Even after his HeelFaceTurn, he is generally aloof and distant from the rest of human characters. Some of them consider him be to outright scary but Piccolo saves [[PetTheDog his softer side for Gohan.]] Not to mention he is quite ruthless in battle, such as severing Dr Gero's arms (though he had assumed he was an android) and [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe bifurcating Babidi.]]* ''VampirePrincessMiyu'': She does what she can to aid humans, and occasionally feels regret for those she can't help, but in the end her job is to banish Shinma, ''not'' to protect or save people. She's not above using mortals as bait, if necessary.* From ''Manga/FairyTail'', the mages of Sabertooth are mean, arrogant [[SmugSuper Smug Supers]] who consider themselves better than everyone else in the Grand Magic Games. They're also a legal guild that hasn't resorted to any dirty tricks, like [[EvilCounterpart Raven]] [[DeliberatelyBadExample Tail]] has, so they're technically good guys.** Laxus Dreyar is the title guild's example of this trope [[spoiler:after he returns]].* Killy from ''{{Blame}}!'' since he shoots the Silicon Creatures indiscriminately.* In ''GundamSeedDestiny'', Yzak sides with Clyne's faction while insulting Kira, Lacus's fiancé. It got to the point that Dearka had to mute Yzak's comm because the guy was shouting so many insults at his allies that people were confused as to which side he was really on. [[ItMakesSenseInContext It really makes sense]] if you know [[GundamSeed their common past]] ([[spoiler: Yzak knows that Kira killed one of his friends and disfigured him due to WarIsHell, and he knows that when Lacus fights against a government, she's usually the on the good side. But he's not forgiving enough to speak nicely to Kira while doing the right thing]]).* Tiger of the Wind in ''Anime/MonsterRancher'' can be ruthless and brutal in battle, often going for the kill in one-to-one fights. He is also arrogant and prideful which can lead him to clash with others.* Zoro from ''OnePiece''. His reputation as a "Pirate Hunter" and his devastating skill with the swords has terrified people, including many of his crewmates. When fighting, he often sports a SlasherSmile and ''delights'' in the bloodlust of having a good fight. But he is unmistakably a good guy with a soft spot for his crew and has been known to go out of his way to protect/help out strangers, including a little girl and an injured man. * Levi, the WorldsStrongestMan, in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' is incredibly rude, coarse and insulting to many people around him and is rumored to be an infamous thug when he was younger. However, he genuinely cares [[AFatherToHisMen for his men]] and humanity in general.* ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'': Inner Moka generally fights to protect [[LoveInterest Tsukune]], but is often annoyed when she's called forth to deal with such problems as the other members of Tsukune's UnwantedHarem fighting over him in the human world and nearly breaking TheMasquerade in the process. What really sealed her as this trope is her defeat of Kurumu early on in the manga: to make sure she never tried to attack them again, Inner Moka fully intended to rip off Kurumu's wings and tail, and would have done so if Tsukune didn't talk her out of it.* In ''Manga/TowardTheTerra'', Glaive Murdock is presented as an unsympathetic, arrogant jerk, yet he repeatedly takes a principled stand against orders he feels are immoral, pretending he didn't receive an order to kill retreating civilians and refusing to ColonyDrop a colony full of hostages when attacked despite a standing order to do so. And in the end, [[spoiler:he pulls a HeroicSacrifice to take out the last Megiddo cannon before it can destroy Terra.]][[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': It can be debated whether Dredd qualifies as good, but he definitely puts the interests of Mega-City One and its citizens before any other concern. However, break the LAW or commit offenses against the city and you sign your death sentence. He's killed BILLIONS of people for this.* Franchise/{{Batman}} is sometimes portrayed as this, DependingOnTheWriter. Often described with roleplaying terms as "LawfulGood doesn't mean Lawful Nice."* Reggie Mantle from ArchieComics sometimes falls into this category. Some stories portray him as hating the holiday season because the Christmas spirit interferes with his natural desire to be rotten, while others portray him as actively taking precautions to make sure the victims of his pranks are only humiliated, without actually being hurt.* Spider Jerusalem from ''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}'' is usually very fitting of this trope.** There is an intentional tension between this and AffablyEvil in Transmet. Warren Ellis makes some pretty clear parallels between the casually horrific behavior of Spider and the sheer corruption of Callahan. Spider's clear sense of vengeance drives his behavior as much as anything else. If taken too far this can put him on the edge of DesignatedHero sometimes.* ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}''. He's a grump and very snarly to gentle or friendly approaches from his friends. But he has also a protective streak bigger then Canada: threaten those he cares for, and the offending party will be shredded three ways from Sunday, especially if they push it.* The British-published ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic'' by Fleetway paints [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog the eponymous hedgehog]] as such. He's a hero and saves the day constantly, but if you're one of his allies? Expect to be belittled, verbally abused, and made to cater to his ego.* The [[TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] Comicbook/{{Superman}} had no trouble with threatening crooks to get them to confess. He didn't kill people, but if criminals suffered KarmicDeath (which happened a ''lot'') he'd usually comment that they got what they deserved. In one comic he grabbed a doctor, ignored his protests, and flew him ''through a hurricane'' and two hundred miles cross-country so he could save a dying kid. This era was later referenced and deconstructed by Grant Morrison. Young Superman tries to beat a confession out of a corrupt media mogul, he succeeds in scaring the guy but what he gets is no way admissible in court.* Comicbook/GreenLantern (off and on) Guy Gardner is a pretty good example of this trope. He's rude, crude, slightly sexist, and can be downright mean to certain heroes, but when the chips are down, you can count on Guy Gardner to fight with his all.** Jack T. Chance is Lobo with a Green Power Ring with all that implies. Because of that, he's been ordered to only patrol and protect one planet while every other Lantern gets a whole sector. While he's crude, brutal and all around very 90s. He did genuinely want to clean up the [[WretchedHive Hellhole]] that was his world.* And lately, the Guardians of the Universe have had this in spades.* [[DefrostingIceQueen The female Dr. Light]]: Helping fellow heroes while looking down on them [[CrisisOnInfiniteEarths since 1985]].* ''Grimjack'' aka John Gaunt. His code of "Always Seek The Truth" can (and often does) hurt his friends, family, clients, random people on the street, etc.* [[http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3429 Gemini Storm]]. The heroine helps keep down the plague of monsters by viciously killing them and enjoying every minute of it.* TheSpectre is the Angel of Vengeance, tasked by {{God}} with punishing those murders, molesters, and miscellaneous malefactors that escape the justice of human hands. He is also one of the creepiest, most unsettling, and cruelest beings in the DC universe. Putting this into perspective: the Spectre needs a human host to do his job, and while the Spectre does dish out horrifically poetic justice to those who think they can escape the consequences of their actions, he doesn't do this to every KarmaHoudini out there... which leads us to Crispus Allen, the Spectre's current host. Crispus was murdered, and the Spectre took no steps against the murderer... [[spoiler: but Allen's son kills the man, leading the Spectre to punish the boy, with Allen helpless to stop him.]]* Jack Knight from the '90s ''Comicbook/{{Starman}}''. He becomes a better person - outside of being a superhero - as the series goes on but he's still a JerkAss AntiHero for a good portion of the early issues. Even at the end, he still shows signs of being a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.* Pick a HardboiledDetective from early Detective Comics, and you'll get this. Slam Bradley comes to mind best.* In ''Minimonsters'', Victor is definitely this.* King Faraday is gruff, cynical, and jaded. He's also just as determined to help the common good as much as the Heroes in Spandex are, and shows this famously in ''[[ComicBook/DCTheNewFrontier New Frontier]]''. ... by trying to arrest the Spandex Clad Heroes. But it's definitely supposed to be for a good cause.* All SinCity heroes with the exception of Wallace, who was very polite.* {{Spider-Man}} had his moments in his early teenage days. He would often act very cocky and could be a bit of a jerk towards fellow heroes at times. He mellowed out a lot more once he came into adulthood.** This is even how the Uncle Ben incident happened originally. Several retellings (such as TheMovie) try to make it more sympathetic, but really, he just let the thief go because it [[BystanderSyndrome wasn't his problem]]. He learned the "with great power..." thing from what happened later, but it didn't instantly transform him into a perfect human being.** He's still a much lighter example, relentlessly insulting and taunting the criminals he fights and at times even the people he saves.* Prowl gets this treatment a lot in the [[TheTransformersIDW IDW version of Transformers]]. He's an arrogant prick, a ManipulativeBastard, comes off as cold and unfeeling, seems to treat even people he professes to like as tools more than as comrades or friends, and sometimes [[IDidWhatIHadToDo does some morally-questionable things in the name of getting things done]]... but in the end of it all he's without a doubt a loyal Autobot dedicated to defeating the Decepticons, protecting the innocent, and reaching for the greater good overall.** Several Autobots come off this way in the course of the IDW run of comics. Repugnus is underhanded, ruthless, argumentative, and more than willing to resort to violence, but he's an Autobot special operations agent who does jobs that those with more delicate morals could barely consider. ** The Wreckers by and large consist of violent diehards, mental jobs, or trouble cases with an appallingly high body count ''and'' casualty count, but they go after the most dangerous of foes that no normal Autobot team could hope to match. In particular, [[spoiler: Wreckers leader Impactor [[ObligatoryWarCrimeScene coldly executes]] the entirety of [[CListFodder Squadron X]] after their capture on a neutral world on the basis that the threat posed by a crack team of ten Decepticons outweighed the political technicalities that required the Wreckers to release their foes.]]* The original Marvel run of ''Comicbook/TheTransformers'' has [[TheMedic Ratchet]] finally lose his cool at [[SmugSnake Starscream]]. Good is no longer nice when the hard-working doctor who turns into an ambulance throws "First Do No Harm" out the window and drops Starscream with a single rage-fueled punch, then crashes the starship he's on into Earth to try and kill four of the most dangerous Decepticons in the galaxy ([[BigBad Megatron]], [[AxCrazy Galvatron]], [[EvilGenius Shockwave]], and [[TheStarscream Starscream]]) at the same time.* {{Deconstructed}} (along with everything else) in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''.* When the ComicBook/FantasticFour trespassed into Heaven [[spoiler:in a bid to resurrect Ben Grimm]], Johnny was struck by an archangel's FlamingSword and noted that it hurt even worse than ''{{Hellfire}}''.* DependingOnTheWriter, ComicBook/TheHulk can be this; he causes a lot of collateral damage and can be an out and out {{Jerkass}} at times, but he'll go out of his way to save innocent lives and make sure no one dies during his rampages, and he's got one of the higher "save the world" count among the Marvel heroes.* ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueElite'': ** Naif Al-Sheikh is a sexist, elitist asshole, but he's also usually honest and works to hold his team to high standards.** Manitou Raven dedicates almost every waking moment to the team, but he also alienates his wife to the point where she hooks up with Green Arrow just to try and get a reaction out of him. * In ''ComicBook/HolyTerror'', the Fixer shows no compassion at all to any of the terrorists, shooting them, breaking their spines and blowing them up.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]* ''Fanfic/{{Kage}}'', this applies to the Guardians, Elyon and Caleb, at least in their interactions with Jade.* In ''Fanfic/{{Kage}}'''s fellow ''Fanfic/ProjectDarkJade'' fic, ''Fanfic/QueenOfAllOni'', this applies to Agent Wisker (who views Jade as just another criminal) and one Ramirez.* In the {{Fanfic/Uplifted}} series all of the protagonists have a brutal streak a mile long, even Erwin Rommel, who coldly guns down [[spoiler:Adolf Eichmann]] at Malta. The Allies are no better, as Joachim and Hanala discover when captured by the SAS.* Harry Johnson (ne Potter) of ''TopDog'' is this, so much so that you have to look rather hard to find the Good (though it is there). He openly expresses contempt for conventional morality, and in fact is a highly-priced mercenary who will kill anyone he's paid to kill--but he's also [[ThePlan working on a long scale]] to make the universe more fair, and it's noted that he's "the kind of person who would get Jews out of Nazi Germany just because he can". This is also a trait of the Kenti empire; they're Good, but [[ProperlyParanoid very paranoid]], and [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy very militaristic]], and they've several times espoused a policy of preemptively killing things that might in the future become a threat.* [[{{Cyborg}} Major]] [[ArtificialLimbs Firebird]] [[SuperSoldier de Coverley]] of ''Fanfic/TheConversionBureauConquerTheStars'' zigzags through this trope. One one hand, she's quite nice most of the time. On the other hand, its implied that [[BloodKnight she loves her job a bit too much]], and a longtime friend of hers is terrified when she sees her in action.** The [[AddedAliterativeAppeal Anti Alicorn Aliance]] plays this straighter.* The [[WisePrince dwarven noble]] [[GuileHero protagonist]] in FanFic/DragonAgeTheCrownOfThorns does usually maintain an affable manner, but he doesn't bother being overly amiable to people who press his buttons like [[spoiler:Lady Isolde, King Cailan and the Orzammar Assembly]], to name a few.** Gwenith 'Gwen' Cousland is the more straight example. She has a tendency of getting into bar fights and is overall quite HotBlooded, getting angry easily and yelling often. She also seems to take people for granted. Nonetheless, she ''does'' mean well, proven particularly accurately by how she, though not without help from some of the other Wardens, [[spoiler:spent some time holding off the darkspawn attacking Redcliffe in order to help the remaining refugees flee]].* In ''Fanfic/TheOfficialFanfictionUniversityOfMiddleEarth'', Elrond. Assigns a crap-load of homework, and prone to temper-tantrums when someone gets their facts wrong.* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/~mrevil Mr.Evil's]] OriginalCharacter Fredi "Frediano" Heat is described as a borderline sociopath, isn't afraid of practically crippling or killing anyone in his path, and ultimately hates being referred to as a "good guy". Despite all of this, he is extremely loyal and gets the job done. The police are just happy that he is on their side.--> '''Fredi''': “Whoever said I had to be a ‘good guy’ to do my job?”* Tatl Beryllia in ''Fanfic/TheBlueBlurOfTermina''. Though she generally means well, she can be quite a jerk at times.* In Fanfic/RorschachInEquestria, when [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Twilight Sparkle]] confronts [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} Rorschach]] for the first time after he [[spoiler: saves Applejack and the Cutie-Mark Crusaders from some Timber Wolves]], his rather blunt answers to her questions frustrate her, when he points out he's "not a nice person" and Twilight points out [[spoiler: the above incident]] as a counter-example, Rorschach replies “Doing the right thing, and being nice, is two different things. I do the right thing, doesn’t mean I’m nice.” Given the [[SugarBowl setting]], Twilight probably hadn't even considered the possibility beforehand.* The FiveManBand of ''Fanfic/Swing123AndGarfieldodiesCalvinverse'' may not be ''evil'', but they are ''definitely'' not nice.* As [[Manga/DeathNote Light]] points out in ''FanFic/ACureForLove'' L's plan to [[spoiler: blow him up in the middle of the night]] isn't very polite.* Takeru in the ''FanFic/TamersForeverSeries'', especially when he [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech criticizes]] the other Digidestined.* In ''FanFic/PointOfSuccession'' Team L cares more about solving the case than for the victims/casualties of it-[[NominalImportance that is unless it is someone they know.]] ''[[SerialKiller Beyond]]'' [[WhatTheHellHero calls them on it.]]* In ''FanFic/{{Remorse}}'' L only cares about solving the Kira case. He does not care about [[CryForTheDevil Light]] at all.* ''Fanfic/MyLittleCastlevania'': Even though [[MrViceGuy Roaring Yawn]] and [[{{Jerkass}} Shatterstorm]] are on the good guys’ side, they are hardly the nicest ponies you’d ever meet.* Pinkamina from ''Fanfic/SeeingThePattern'' is grouchy, sarcastic and anti-social. She’s also waging a secret one-mare war against Death.* None of the three main protagonists from ''FanFic/Tech10Rebooted'' could be considered nice people, though their unpleasantness tends to vary.* Latios from ''Fanfic/ANewChanceSeries'' is extremely loyal to Ash and ready to fight against evil. He is also cold and withdrawn, especially around other humans, his need to [[BigBrotherInstinct protect his younger sister]] Latias can grate on her, and in battle he can ''vicious'' toward the antagonists, to the point of scaring Ash. Highlights include putting the bunch of poachers in a permanent coma, nearly killing a defeated band of Team Magma agents and [[spoiler: and crushing to death the poacher Rico for selling Larvitar's mother.]] * ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has a number, but the two stand outs are Loki and Nick Fury. Loki is a doting uncle, a patient teacher and bitterly remorseful for what he's done. He's also ReformedNotTamed and more than willing to do the dirty work, with [[TheLancer the explicit purpose of being Thor's shadow]], [[ShootTheDog to do the things Thor never could.]] Fury has dedicated his life to protecting humanity from the monsters, human and inhuman, who think that they cannot be held to account. He believes in heroes, he cares for Harry, the son of his [[DeadLittleSister surrogate sister Lily]] and he is, ultimately, a good and decent man. He's also a ManipulativeBastard and MagnificentBastard who is more than comfortable exercising CruelMercy and chucking people like the Dursleys in an {{Oubliette}} whose ruthlessness gets VillainRespect from his ArchEnemy Lucius Malfoy who, though he despises him (and the feeling is mutual), admires him. He'll manipulate Albus Dumbledore, an old friend, and press his buttons just to see if the old man still has what it takes (he does). They're good, but neither is to be crossed.** And Loki learnt it from Odin.* In ''[[Fanfic/RyuugisTheGamesWePlay The Games We Play]]'', Jaune learns to his displeasure that the Wisest decisions aren't always the most morally palatable.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film - Animated]]* The eponymous ogre of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'' films, who initially just wants to be left alone in his swamp. Then he agrees to rescue a princess in exchange for clearing out the exiles in his swamp, and things spiral from there.* Basil of Baker Street, from ''Disney/TheGreatMouseDetective'', is condescending and rude. Children coming to his office to say their fathers were kidnapped are told "I have no time for lost fathers!" Of course, this turns out to be because he's focused on trying to apprehend a local crime lord named Professor Ratigan, whom ironically happens to be very FauxAffablyEvil, the polar opposite of this trope.* In ''Disney/{{Bambi}}'', [[BigGood The Great Prince of the Forest]] is a borderline abusive parent and an entirely aloof father. The 2006 gives him CharacterDevelopement, however.* Kerchak from ''Disney/{{Tarzan}}'' also counts.* Quite the literal example from ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'': while the arcade game characters fulfill "good guy" and "bad guy" roles while the game is being played, offscreen their actual personalities greatly vary. Many "bad guys" are nice, gentle people while various "good guys" or "innocent bystanders" are mean, condescending and/or InnocentlyInsensitive (Felix...). [[spoiler:Or in the case of Turbo, who was the main protagonist of his game, psychotic, attention-obsessed, spiteful, murderous and insane.]]* {{God}} in ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt''. See the Religion and Mythology section.* Shifu in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' is unquestionably on the side of good, but is irritable, harsh to his students and insulting towards Po.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]* TheManWithNoName from the ''Film/DollarsTrilogy'' is a classic example of this trope.* ''AceVentura'' is a send-up of this sort of character, whether intentionally or otherwise. He talks out of his backside, is inherently immature and even sociopathic, but losing someone he was trying to save drives him into seclusion in a monastery. Said someone was a raccoon...* ''Film/{{Hancock}}'' starts off like this. He goes out of his way to help people in need and stop criminals, and he also doesn't commit murder, with one possible exception right near the end of the movie. He's also an alcoholic with a short temper who isn't afraid to use his powers to intimidate people he doesn't like.* From the first ''[[Film/TheProphecy Prophecy]]'' movie, regarding biblically correct angels:-->"Did you ever notice how in the Bible, when ever God needed to punish someone, or make an example, or whenever God needed a killing, he sent an angel? Did you ever wonder what a creature like that must be like? A whole existence spent praising your God, but always with one wing dipped in blood. Would you ever really want to see an angel?"-->"I'm an angel. I kill firstborns while their mamas watch. I turn cities into salt. I even, when I feel like it, rip the souls from little girls, and from now till kingdom come, the only thing you can count on in your existence is never understanding why."* Bernie La Plante played by DustinHoffman in ''Hero''. La Plante is an unscrupulous thief who nevertheless can't help but do good deeds like rescuing people from a crashed airliner.* A major theme of the ''DirtyHarry'' series, where the title character is portrayed as frequently doing [[ShootTheDog cruel but justified things]]. Summed up with a remark he made [[spoiler:[[ItMakesSenseInContext after punching someone in the face to make it easier to stop him from committing suicide]].]]-->"Now you know why they call me Dirty Harry. Every dirty job that comes along..."* Also a theme of the ''Franchise/StarWars'' series. More general examples include the strict Jedi code and the lengths the well-intentioned pro-republic characters are willing to go to in order to keep the galaxy together. ([[spoiler:For example, an army of clones whose genetics are modified to make them obedient, as a means of crushing the separatists, was created, and Mace and Yoda didn't object at Palpatine's announcement of this.]])** In addition, in the novelization for Episode III, Kenobi and Yoda make quite clear they have nothing against sacrificing anyone, including each other, if it would end the war a day earlier.* ''Film/LeanOnMe'' portrays Joe Clark as on several occasions being willing to do the right thing when the right thing isn't exactly nice. He expels hundreds of "troublemakers" at a time to improve the school for the better students, orders the school's doors "chained and locked" on being told that someone from inside the school let an expelled student into the school building, and fires a teacher for picking up trash during the school song for which everyone was told not to move.-->I cried "my God, why has thou forsaken me?" and the Lord said "Joe, you're no damn good. No, I mean this! More than you realize, you're no earthly good at all unless you take this opportunity and do whatever you have to." And he didn't say "Joe, be polite."* The titular Batman from the [[Film/{{Batman}} 1989 film]] definitely qualifies.* ''Film/TheAvengers'', with only CaptainAmerica as the exception. Tony Stark is an arrogant, conceited JerkAss with problems with authority, but his goal is to make up for his past failures. The Hulk is a raging monster who cannot tell friend from foe during his temper tantrums, but just because he doesn't like you doesn't mean he won't protect you. Thor still has shades of being a BoisterousBruiser who smashes first and asks questions later, but he follows his heart and demonstrates UndyingLoyalty to his family, friends, and to Earth itself. Hawkeye and Black Widow are agents (and former criminals) who won't hesitate to [[IDidWhatIHadToDo do what needs to be done]]. Also, Black Widow is duplicitous and very rarely shows anything real about herself. That doesn't stop the two of them from being loyal to each other and to their comrades. And Nick Fury, who employs every single dirty trick to meet his ends. Fortunately, his ends are preserving worldwide freedom.* Similarly, the ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''. Their members are Star-Lord (womanising, cocky thief), Rocket (a bad-tempered thug raccoon who spends his spare time making bombs to blow up moons), Gamora (a cold-blooded assassin raised by ''ComicBook/{{Thanos}}'', of all people) and Drax [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Destroyer]] (who gets introduced trying to kill someone in prison, and seems genuinely surprised being a hero means you can't kill people for annoying you). [[MemeticMutation What a bunch of a-holes.]] They do have their own exception, though, in [[TheHeart Groot]] (though even he's perfectly willing to impale bad guys and smile about it). And they ''do'' save the galaxy, when they have to.* [[Franchise/{{Rambo}} John Rambo.]] He may be on the good guys side, but the mountain of corpses and LudicrousGibs he leaves in his wake proves he's not exactly the nicest guy around. * While Thorin in ''Film/TheHobbit'' is unmistakably one of the protagonists, he can often be incredibly stubborn, proud, harsh, and quick to criticize, as well as discriminating against all things elvish. ** Well, he is ''the'' stereotypical [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarf]].* ''Franchise/{{Gamera}}'': Gamera is the Friend to All Children and [[DestructiveSaviour a walking, turtle-shaped natural disaster to everyone else]].* Spider from ''Film/{{Elysium}}''.* Chuck Hansen in ''PacificRim''. The Australian may be doing everything in his power to protect and save humanity from the {{Kaiju}}, but don't expect him not to insult or sneer at the people around him, especially if he believes [[ThePerfectionist they're incompetent or just not worth his time.]] The only person he's truly nice to is [[HeroesLoveDogs his English bulldog, Max.]] * ActionHero Snow in ''Film/{{Lockout}}'' is snide, sarcastic, and deeply cynical throughout the movie. He's also constantly rude to the woman he's trying to save, including cutting her hair against her will and punching her to make her pass for a male prisoner.* ''Film/NonStop'': Air Marshal Marks is definitely the good guy, but he has no qualms about roughing up suspects, which does little to endear him to anyone. The crew can barely tolerate him and the passengers think he's borderline psychotic.%% * Wolverine from the ''Film/XMen'' films.* Larry Garfield from ''Film/OtherPeoplesMoney'' is almost the TropeNamer:-->Since when do you have to be nice to be right?[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'' has the Whistler family. Those in charge are GoodParents, but taking away all privileges (which includes private property) from an inobedient child is decidedly not ''nice''. * Arlen Bales, otherwise known as the Warded Man from ''Literature/TheWardedMan'' and sequels* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' ** Granny Weatherwax is practically the poster girl for this. In fact, it's her catchphrase. She was supposed to be an evil witch, [[spoiler: until her "good" sister turned evil in her place]]. She resents her for that.-->''"I'm not saying she's not basically a nice person--" Magrat began.''\\''"Hah! I am. You'd have to go a long day's journey to find someone basically nastier than Esme," said Nanny Ogg, "and this is ''me'' sayin' it. She knows exactly what she is. She was born to be good and she don't like it."''** It is mentioned that she feels that the distinction between "Right" and "Wrong" is more important than merely "Good" and "Evil". One one occasion in ''Maskerade'' she takes some pleasure in stitching up the wounds of a gang of would-be muggers using a handy sewing kit. The experience appears to be have been rather distressing for the patients.--->''"Let's do some good."''** To a degree, many other ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' witches. Miss Treason intentionally dresses up the evil witch appearance [[spoiler: even though most of it is Boffo novelty items]], and can only really do her job because people fear her.** There's also Sam "This is how you play LawfulGood you morons!" Vimes.** Vimes is a pretty definitive one, but what about Vetinari? He's the archetypal MagnificentBastard, ascended his position with the help of 'a few mysterious murders' and in some of the books comes ''this'' close to being an antagonist...but on the other hand, he's turned Ankh-Morpork into a smoothly-running machine with a large and efficient police force and a thriving economy. Nice? Hell, no. Good? Hmm... He also arranged things so when he dies, everything goes to hell. It makes sure he won't be assassinated, but all men are mortal, and Vetinari is a man. On Discworld.** Even Carrot qualifies at times, such as when he kills [[spoiler:Dr. Cruces]] in ''Discworld/MenAtArms'', and upbraids Colon at the end of ''Discworld/TheFifthElephant''.* Micah E. F. Martin's ''Literature/TheCanticle'' gives us [[KnightTemplar Jonathan Servitor]], a merciless inquisitor serving a CorruptChurch that's all humanity has standing between it and the ravenous legions of the dead. Needless to say, sometimes he gets his hands dirty.* Flannery O'Connor [[http://www.flanneryoconnor.org/ssfreaks.html spawned a quote]] that often comes up to describe this trope; it is most commonly repeated through the form in which [[http://www.amywelborn.com/walkerpercy/thantos.html Walker Percy paraphrased]] it, when she wrote that, "''tenderness leads to the gas chamber''". It's a rather shocking way of pointing out that trying to be ''nice'' without first being ''good'' is a fast road to becoming a [[WellIntentionedExtremist very dangerous kind of person]].* TheSwordThatSpeaks, Kheiko, from ''Literature/{{Phenomena}}'' sometimes [[ChildrenForcedToKill forces Alk to kill]]. Serves as one of many BreakTheCutie [[FromBadToWorse moments]] for Alk.* Jake from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' grows into this over three years of leading a small force of hardened guerrilla fighters, with a serious case of "IDidWhatIHadToDo."* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':** Severus Snape, while devoted to Dumbledore's cause and [[spoiler:[[TheAtoner atoning]] for Lily's death]] is acerbic, strict, and apparently despises Harry, [[spoiler: while trying to protect him all the time]].** Then there is Harry Potter himself, who [[CruelMercy spares Peter Pettigrew's life]] only to condemn him to what might be a FateWorseThanDeath at the end of Book 3. "He can go to Azkaban. If anyone deserves that place, he does."** In the later books he performs two out of three ''Unforgivable Curses', the [[ColdBloodedTorture Cruciatus]] and the [[JediMindTrick Imperius]] - effectively [[WhatTheHellHero torturing and mind-controlling people]]. Of course he only did that to people who really, really deserved it, when they hit his BerserkButton.** The exact extent to which the BigGood Dumbledore is a ManipulativeBastard is up to debate, but the fact itself is certain.** Then there's Sirius Black, who himself used to be a [[TheBully bully]] to Snape when they where growing up, gave him the nickname "Snivellus" and [[spoiler: even attempted to feed him to Remus Lupin while transformed into a werewolf.]] Even into his thirties, an age when most adults would put behind their childish grudges, he still is quite rude to Snape and calls him Snivellus a few times.*** Sirius also never misses the opportunity to yell at or bully Kreacher, his House Elf. In the movie adaption of ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'', Kreacher's screen time was cut quite a bit but we do get to see Sirius' outburst of shouting "Kreacher! That's enough of your bile! Away with you!". Given that Kreacher is a two, perhaps three-foot-tall house servant and Sirius is twice his size and a wizard to boot make the scene a little disturbing. But despite all his flaws (perhaps exacerbated by his twelve years of [[MindRape mind rape]] in Azkaban and an abusive upbringing), he is still capable of feeling immense affection and loyalty, acts of great bravery and kindness, and is staunchly on the side of the good.** In the books, James and Sirius's arrogant attitude to people they dismiss is used to {{Deconstruct}} this trope, showing what is likely to happen if a person, who is otherwise good, displays MoralMyopia or MoralDissonance to a few others. Their condescending treatment of their friend [[spoiler: Peter Pettigrew, admittedly a DirtyCoward]], led the latter to never feel like a true friend but a toady, making him seek out, what Sirius admits, "the biggest bullies of the playground", making him a perfect traitor to Voldemort. Hermione herself points out that House Elfs show loyalty BecauseYouWereNiceToMe, which means that Sirius' treatment of Kreacher, despite not being prejudiced against house-elves and being sympathetic himself, [[spoiler: led to his death]]. * Max Pesaro from ''Literature/TheGardellaVampireChronicles.''* In Creator/CSLewis's ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' series, the narrator points out that many who haven't been to Narnia don't believe something can be terrible and wonderful at the same time. They are wrong. We are repeatedly warned that Aslan "is not a tame lion." As the beavers tell us in the first book, he's "good", but not "safe." There is this encounter, from ''Literature/TheSilverChair,'' in which Jill Pole, a girl from our world, encounters Aslan without knowing anything about him except that he's a very large talking lion:--> "Do you eat girls?" she said.--> "I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms," said the Lion. It didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.** It's worth noting that Aslan is actually supposed to be JesusChrist. Lewis was a strict Christian, but was quite exasperated by people trying to turn God into a "nice Guy" rather than a "good Guy."** Edmund Pevensie himself is actually somewhat of an AntiHero, even after his HeelFaceTurn, because of [[DeadpanSnarker his constant snarkiness]], his [[DeathGlare death glares]] and his temptation to beat the crap out of [[{{Jerkass}} his cousin]]. [[PerpetualFrowner And he's almost always frowning or scowling]].* Mr. Darcy from ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'' and Sir Thomas Bertram from ''Literature/MansfieldPark'' by Creator/JaneAusten -- Both are principled and responsible, but also stiff and distant.** Darcy goes beyond "stiff" to "plain rude" once: when first seeing Elizabeth, Darcy says ''within her hearing'', "She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt ''me''; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men." Ouch.* Aaron from ''Literature/PocketInTheSea'' gives his best friend a roughing up and, it is suggested, a concussion to prevent him from asphyxiating himself.* Nicholas van Rijn from Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/PolesotechnicLeague'' stories is a greedy, sloppy, cynical, womanizing corporate executive. He also constantly saves his employees from death and disaster, often with an elaborate BatmanGambit that involves using evolutionary psychology to psychoanalyze whatever alien race is giving their interstellar trading company trouble. He is also merciful towards his enemies and tries to create win-win situations for them.* Literature/SherlockHolmes was often arrogant, self-absorbed, callous, and rude; subject to many theories about Asperger's Syndrome and bipolarism.* The ''Literature/NightWatch''.** The main character Anton embodies this trope to a T. Especially during that section of the first book where [[WhatYouAreInTheDark all bets are off.]]* Robert Jordan's ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' has quite a bit of this. Rand al'Thor, and to a lesser degree Perrin Aybara, want to be good and nice, but end up growing more bitter and reclusive as the series progresses. And then there are all the {{jerkass}} women, who are "good" only because they oppose [[{{Satan}} the Dark One]]. There are also the Aiel, who oppose the Dark One, [[{{Determinator}} to their last breath]], but have a massive superiority complex over all Wetlanders. In later books a few of the characters get annoyed with their attitudes but say nothing because they need them for the Last Battle.* The ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'' {{verse}} by Steven Erikson and Ian Cameron Esslemont has many good-guy characters who are very disillusioned and grumpy. In fact, most of them are either this or {{wangst}}y, or both.* In Creator/DanAbnett's ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' novel ''Ghostmaker'', the angel (or hallucination) that appears to Larkins inspires him to carry out his mission alone, despite his terror, but that includes prying out him the truth of his panic-stricken flight and demanding that he carry it out.* Richard of the Literature/SwordOfTruth books. Pick a book, especially a later book. He is 'good,' but has a nasty habit of killing people who disagree with him** The other heroes are worse. Richard will only kill you. Cara will torture you first. As for Kahlan...-->(after Verna orders an assassin who just killed one of their friends to be tortured by Cara)-->'''assassin''': "Mother Confessor! If you're so good as you claim, then show me mercy!"-->'''Kahlan''': "But I have, I am allowing you to suffer the sentence Verna has named, and not the one I would impose."-->'''general''': "The others we captured?"--> '''Kahlan''': "Cut their throats."* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''** Frodo tells Gollum that he must obey him, because if not, Frodo will put on the Ring, and order Gollum to jump off a cliff or the like. This astounds Sam, who had always assumed that Frodo's goodness made him soft, and reduces Gollum to whimpering terror.** Gandalf fits this trope perfectly, enough that it's alluded to be a general stereotype of wizards. He has quite a temper, he hates explaining himself, and he's also something of a DeadpanSnarker. But he's also the BigGood.-->'''Gandalf''': "Dangerous! And so am I, very dangerous: more dangerous than anything you will ever meet, unless you are brought alive before the seat of the Dark Lord!"** Aragorn fits this trope too, especially when he appears for the first time, berating Frodo and getting him scared. [[GenreSavvy As he puts it himself]], 'I look foul and feel fair'.** Also Denethor, who is willing to sacrifice anything for Gondor, although [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation this depends]] on [[KnightTemplar how "good"]] you consider him to be.* ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'':** Both Fëanor and Fingolfin fit the bill. Though where Fëanor is concerned, "good" may be debatable. He goes pretty AxCrazy there after awhile.** The best example from ''The Silmarillion'' is undoubtedly Celegorm, however. He's borderline the TokenEvilTeammate. He [[SarcasmMode boasts]] such great feats as: being the only elf we know of to ever try to [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil commit rape]] ([[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman on Lúthien]]), plotting to have Finrod (his first cousin on his father's side) killed so that he can take his kingdom, actually ''encouraging'' the [[FinalSolution Second]] [[WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide Kinslaying]] as a direct result of failing to get Lúthien. And yet, after all that, he is still unquestionably, absolutely, utterly against [[BigBad Morgoth.]]* Roland from ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' series. He desires to be kind, and whenever he has an opportunity he demonstrates it. But he always ends up in situations where he must hurt, [[spoiler:even sacrifice]] those he loves for the sake of his mission. [[DirtyBusiness It bothers him]].* Stated fairly well in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', when [[MamaBear Charity]] is dressing Harry's cut even though she dislikes him.--> "I hear they make antiseptics that don't hurt these days. Charity used iodine."** And Harry himself, at times.*** Best shown in ''Death Masks'', where Harry and the [[LawfulGood Knights of the Cross]] are confronted by a willing collaborator of the Denarians who [[ISurrenderSuckers surrenders and sarcastically promises to repent]], all the while [[SmugSnake taunting them smugly]] because the Knights are bound to not judge or punish, but only to fight the evil possessing the Denarians. [[spoiler: Once the Knights leave, [[ShutUpHannibal Harry takes a baseball bat to the man's kneecaps]].]]--->'''Harry:''' People like you always mistake compassion for weakness. Michael and Sanya aren't weak. Fortunately for you, they are good men. Unfortunately for you, '''I'm not'''.*** Even demonstrated by the Knights themselves in the same scene. When Harry leaves the room, the Knights are standing calmly in the hall, knowing full well what Harry was doing and choosing not to intervene. After all, they aren't out to judge or punish someone for [[spoiler: taking a baseball bat to an evil bastard's knees]]. And they take gleeful delight in the look on the man's face when he realized what Harry was about to do, as well as Harry's parting shot: [[spoiler: he left the man a quarter to call for an ambulance, assuming he dragged himself across the parking lot to a payphone.]]--->'''Sanya:''' Payphones cost more than a quarter these days, Harry.--->'''Harry:''' I know.** Ebenezar [=McCoy=], who once [[spoiler:[[ColonyDrop pulled a decommissioned Soviet satellite out of orbit]] to punish a vampire duke who tried to cheat in a duel against Harry.]]** And in Changes, [[spoiler: during the attack on Chichen Itza, Ebenezar kills two hundred enemy gunmen with a few gestures of his staff.]] He ''is'' [[spoiler:the Blackstaff, who has an unique license to kill and use BlackMagic in defense of the Council]], after all.** Morgan is not ''nice'', or even [[InspectorJavert going after the right person]]. However, he's loyal to a fault and his motives are most definitely LawfulGood.** Mab, and the Winter Court in general. Normally, with TheFairFolk, Summer (Seelie) fae are seen as the 'good guys' and Winter (Unseelie) are the 'bad guys.' However, BlueAndOrangeMorality means sometimes [[HoneyTrap nice isn't good]]. On the other hand, Winter are downright ''scary,'' and more likely to make threats and send things to eat your head over some offense. However, most of the fae who are on the hero's side are Winter, and in the most recent book, Mab's TrainingFromHell makes Harry a ''lot'' more {{Badass}} (yes, there are things out there that require Harry to be ''even more badass than usual.'' Run.) [[spoiler:and it turns out that Winter protects the human world from [[EldritchAbomination The Outsiders]].]]* In the opening chapter of Creator/CharlesWilliams' Literature/DescentIntoHell, one of the amateur actresses remarks that nature is "terribly good". Playwright Peter Stanhope breaks in with "You do mean terribly?", and later notes that "The substantive contains the adjective, not vice versa. The good contains terror, not terror good." This leads into the next chapter where Pauline encounters the doppelganger, which proves to be indeed "terribly good".* The main character in Brian Stableford's ''Hooded Swan'' novels is practically a pacifist who abhors violence and will almost always step up to do something heroic if he's called upon, including sacrificing his own life if it saves others, but he's abrasive and sarcastic, doesn't get along with anybody and either resents, insults or condescends to people trying to be friends to him, including the alien symbiote inside his mind. He even seems blind to his own heroic nature, the first person narrative is full of rationalizations of why he's no hero.* In T.H. White's ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing'', Sir Galahad is detested by most of the knights he comes into contact with, because he is far too good to be merely polite.* The Baroness in Thackeray's ''The Virginians'' remarks: "...Let me tell you, sir, that angels are sometimes not very ''commodes à vivre''. It may be they are too good to live with us sinners, and the air down below here don't agree with them."* In the ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'' series, Tris. It's even lampshaded by her student in ''Shatterglass'', which makes her blush. Aw.** Another ''Circle of Magic'' example would be [[InsufferableGenius Dedicate Initiate]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Crane]]. He's a JerkAss to everyone, even the people he speaks reasonably politely to. He kicks hard-working, earnest helpers out of his laboratory for so much as having a loose thread on their clothes. (The reasoning was justified, in that they were working with the pure essences of an incredibly virulent and thus far incurable disease. The ''[[KickTheDog manner]]'' in which he dismisses them, however, was not.) He automatically believes the worst of everyone, even his [[VitriolicBestBuds university friend Rosethorn]]. And yet he has, on more than one occasion, worked himself almost to the point of collapsing from exhaustion in an effort to find the cure for a plague and save people from dying.* In the Literature/TortallUniverse (also by Creator/TamoraPierce), this is frequently explored.** King Jonathan makes some hard but necessary decisions and compromises. Keladry of ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'' realizes that being a ''good'' king doesn't necessarily mean being a ''nice'' king.** George, during his tenure as King of Thieves in ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness''. He's a good friend to Alanna and Jon, but he [[YouHaveFailedMe has a jar of ears from underlings who fail him]]. And if you fail him twice, you die.* Bernabus, Drust and later Grubbs from ''Literature/TheDemonata'' series love this trope.* After undergoing some major CharacterDevelopment, Scorpio from the later Literature/RevelationSpace novels is one of the more altruistic characters, but he's definitely not someone you should piss off.* In the ''Literature/LeftBehind'' series, {{God}} goes all out with His judgments during the Tribulation in order to bring as many people to salvation as possible before sending {{Jesus}} to finish off the hardened moral rebels which comprise the bulk of the Global Community army sided with the Antichrist as well as [[NeutralityBacklash those who didn't accept Him as savior.]] However, this is not to say that God enjoyed doing this.%% The next person to mention Jesus here will be banned. And the one after that. Etc.* [[ComicBook/XWingSeries Wedge Antilles]] is said to have cold-space lubricants for blood. He will take aside and verbally tear his subordinates apart if, say, they're too cocky or they've done something wrong. One of them who was called out at length for folding up whenever he's given any responsibility says "Every time I hear one of your 'motivational speeches' I want to beat you to death." Despite that, Wedge is a ReasonableAuthorityFigure of the highest caliber. Gain his trust, prove that you've learned and changed, and he will back you to hell and back. To people who haven't just screwed up, he can be very kind and understanding - but he can also be very cruel if someone steps out of line and endangers the squadron, the mission, or civilians.** And if you [[BerserkButton diss a late friend and comrade of his out of]] FantasticRacism...* Ii-chan, the main character of NISIOISIN's LightNovel/{{Zaregoto}} novels, fits this trope to a tee.* Allanon of TerryBrooks's Literature/{{Shannara}} series is manipulative, shadowy and secretive. He frequently resorts to threats and bullying, is perhaps the king of FigureItOutYourself, and uses people like sock puppets. He's also seven feet tall, sports a BlackCloak, and is mistrusted by the vast majority of those who meet him. He's the BigGood.* Quite a few characters in ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' fit this to a T, particularly the title character, a naval officer who is a skilled marskman, expert tactician, and unbelievably dangerous in hand-to-hand combat.** Another noteworthy example is the President of [[spoiler: Haven]] in the later books. One of her cabinet members is tampering with the official communications between their government and Manticore, hoping to game the situation so that he can take power when the current leader falls out of favor. He comes to the [[OhCrap startling realization]] that he's been running with the IdiotBall after she [[spoiler: declares war on Manticore instead of bending over backwards to avoid it]]. He particularly should have seen that coming considering that she started her political career as a cell leader in a [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters violent left-wing revolutionary organization]] in the Legislaturalist days, and says so in a mental comment to himself when she ''does'' blow up.** Stated succinctly by Aivars Terekhov when he comes with a task force to the rescue of a planet rebelling against a dictatorial government, combined with a dose of EvilCannotComprehendGood. The people he's addressing have several seconds to contemplate his message before the building they're in is vaporized from orbit.--> "Why is is that people like you always think you're more ruthless than people like me?"* The good guys (if you can [[BlackAndGreyMorality find them]]) in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', being feudal lords of a war-torn kingdom, generally fall here. The nicest of the main characters are the various members of the Stark family, who are kind enough to ''personally'' execute criminals rather than keep an executioner on staff.** Stannis is also arguably an example of this, at least at first.* Herald Alberich of Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar. His successor Kerowyn has a bit of it going on, too.** Alberich is more in the mode of DrillSergeantNasty (having been an officer in the army of Valdemar's enemy Karse before gaining a Companion), as is Kerowyn (who was a mercenary). They're among the few Heralds who had prior military experience before gaining Companions, and it shows.* The Literature/InDeath series: Eve Dallas is good, but she is not nice. Roarke ''seems'' nicer... until you get on his bad side.* Literature/SisterhoodSeries by Creator/FernMichaels: The Sisterhood/Viglantes. Each member did start out as nice, but the minute they form this group is the minute they dive into this trope. Reason 6 is certainly a factor for this, although reason 2 may possibly apply as well. The first 7 books are all about them getting {{Revenge}} on the people who wronged them. The last 13 books are all about trying to get back to their normal, everyday lives. Unfortunately, this trope gets cranked UpToEleven so much that some of the villains actually become UnintentionallySympathetic!* From the ''[[TheLaundrySeries Laundry Files]]'' by Creator/CharlesStross, we get [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Angleton]], head of the Counter-Possession branch and protagonist Bob's sometimes-boss (matrix management at work). He takes a personal interest in Bob's career, makes sure he's given the best of care when he needs it, and is inhumanly effective at managing the titular occult intelligence agency to protect civilians from the Cthulhoid horrors lurking around the edges of reality. He's also [[UncannyValley scary as hell]] and has been known to [[AndIMustScream very ruthlessly]] [[FateWorseThanDeath deal with]] anyone who tries a boardroom coup. [[spoiler:Angleton is eventually revealed to be an [[CapturedSuperEntity Eater of Souls]] who was indoctrinated to pass for human in the 1930s; given the ramshackle nature of the spells that were supposed to hold him in place, Bob is sure that he's here as TheFettered voluntarily, and sides with humanity against other super entities of his own accord.]]* In Creator/DerekRobinson's WWII novel ''Piece of Cake'', the EnsembleDarkHorse is Moggy Cattermole, an AcePilot who has no qualms about shooting down enemy Red Cross planes, or strafing German air crews in rubber dinghies, or bullying his fellow pilots...But he's still one of the good guys.* Made ''very'' clear in the Literature/YoungWizards series, especially in ''A Wizard Abroad''. The Powers and their tools might be ''good'' (except for those like the Lone Power which gets complicated) but that in no way means that they're ''safe''.* Discussed by British statesman Lord Chesterfield in ''Literature/LettersToHisSon'' #98, contrasting Cato the younger (who had this reputation) with AffablyEvil GaiusJuliusCaesar.* In ''Literature/{{The Secret of Platform 13}},'' the northern part of the Island is inhabited by [[HarpingOnAboutHarpies harpies]], hags, hellhounds and other creatures who, while not evil, are naturally unpleasant to other kinds of people. They actually serve as the Island's police force; apparently they don't need a jail, since spending a bit of time alone with these folks with reform anybody.** The narration also notes that Nanny Brown "wasn't a particularly nice woman, [[FriendToAllChildren but she loved babies]]," and seems to have done a good job raising Ben. * In ''Literature/PhoenixRising'' and the rest of the Literature/JasonWood universe: how Khoros operates. He misdirects and uses everyone mercilessly. Though he usually is courteous.* Zanna Martindale from [[Literature/{{Dragons}} The Last Dragon Chronicles]].* [[TheStraightAndArrowPath Justin Oliver]] from ''[[Literature/{{Heroics}} Heroics]]'', a teenaged superhero who ''does'' legitimately want to help people but is also [[FantasticRacism extremely prejudicial]] and [[{{Jerkass}} rude]] to pretty much everyone.* In Piers Anthony's ''Xanth'' series, the "Good" Magician Humphrey is usually rude to people who come to him for Answers (his specialty). He sets three challenges to slow down all but the most dedicated ones and then charges a year of service (or an equivalent Magic item) per Answer.* Hoyt [=McCoy=] from ''[[Literature/TheBooksOfEmber The Prophet of Yonwood]]''.-->'''Hoyt:''' I am ''not'' particularly neat or clean; I am certainly ''not'' what anyone would call normal. But I am as ''good'' as anyone else. * ''Radio/TheShadow'' counts. He may fight crime...but don't expect him to win any Citizen of the Year Awards due to his nasty and downright frightening demeanor.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]* Dr. Cox of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' is willing to risk his career to save a patient's life, but is not an overwhelmingly friendly person and gladly insults a patient who has different opinions than him. Differing opinions, the woman he loves, his favored protégé, complete strangers... Cox is not a nice person, but see his reactions to losing friends and patients.* And following this pattern, Dr. Reid Oliver from ''Series/AsTheWorldTurns''. There's a reason why his FandomNickname was Dr. Series/{{House}}.* ''Series/{{Becker}}''.* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': Sheldon. He is technically one if the good guys, but is also [[InsufferableGenius near]] [[TheFriendNobodyLikes intolerable,]] [[EntitledBastard demanding,]] [[ItsAllAboutMe narcissistic,]] [[CondescendingCompassion condescending,]] and [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating hated by almost everyone who knows him.]]* As much as Dr. ''Series/{{House}}'' wants everyone to think he only does it for the puzzle, many episodes show in his behavior that he does genuinely care, and has on several occasions put himself in harm's way to save the patient's life. Sure, he may say he doesn't really care about people, but, well...[[ArcWords everybody lies]]. In spite of his genuine goodness, however, he regards everybody else he meets as an idiot, and [[InsufferableGenius tells them as much to their face]].* The Fist Team from ''Series/DoubleTheFist'' are here to help. They want the world to be more activate and powerful, and helped save the woodland from loggers once. However, they have also murdered a number of innocent people, destroyed a lot of public property, and eventually conquered the world. Their hearts are in the right place...Well, Mephisto may enjoy his work a bit too much.* Malcolm Reynolds of ''Series/{{Firefly}}''. If his damn conscience didn't keep dragging him towards good, and let him get on with his life as an amoral rogue, he'd have single-handedly won [[TheWarOfEarthlyAggression the War of Alliance Aggression]]. (At least that's the way he sees it nowadays.)* Every one of the good guys on ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', but Castiel, the angel, deserves special mention. He might work for the greater good, but he and all of the other angels are warriors, they're not there to follow anyone around or perch on anyone's shoulders. Seriously, they're about as far away from [[Series/TouchedByAnAngel Roma Downey]] as you could possibly get.** Zachariah's way of asking for help is elaborate, long, drawn-out torture with an intent to kill. And he's "lacking in imagination".** The Trickster. His way of trying to "help" Sam and teach the boys a lesson involved killing Dean over and over again in order to try and get Sam to accept that Dean was going to die and there was no stopping it. It didn't work. [[spoiler:Oh, and he's actually Gabriel, hiding from his brothers because he can't stand them fighting]].** Sam and Dean, in different ways. Sam can be absolutely ''ruthless'' for the greater good and has a nasty streak of rage. Dean has no compunctions about [[PercussivePrevention forcibly stopping]] people before they screw things up and spent ten years "studying" under Alastair as a torturer in Hell. He's still got the skills he learned there and has put them to "good" use on occasion.* In ''Series/DoctorWho'' the Doctor is often sharp and blunt with people and has been known to rub people the wrong way at times. When the Abzorbaloff in "Love & Monsters" accuses the Doctor of being 'sweet' and 'passionate' the Doctor agrees. However, he also adds "...don't ever mistake that for nice." (However, this rebuttal was somewhat part of a bluff). The Doctor doesn't entirely fit this mould all the time but he has been known to (especially in his first, sixth, ninth and twelfth incarnations).** The Fourth Doctor also had some very "alien" moments, like showing no emotion over the death of an InnocentBystander. (Though by no means the norm for him, there was still a large gap between himself and his previous, more "human" incarnations.)** The Tenth Doctor also fits the bill. Although he was often cheerful, gregarious and friendly, he was equally often arrogant, dismissive and downright [[BewareTheNiceOnes ruthless]].*** While it wasn't as obvious in his first season, [[spoiler:after the loss of Rose]], this trait kept popping up more and more frequently. He showed signs of mellowing out a bit by the time Donna came around, but after [[spoiler:having to wipe Donna's memory of their time together]], he starts skirting into MoralEventHorizon territory, particularly [[spoiler:in The Waters of Mars]].*** The Family of Blood have a few things to say about the Doctor. When he tried to run and hide from them, they thought he was a coward to be hunted down. Turns out, he was being ''kind''. [[spoiler:What he does to them when he decides to fight back is pure AndIMustScream.]]** Eleven: Utterly {{Adorkable}} and possibly the [[TranquilFury scariest Doctor yet]] when you hit his BerserkButton. ** Adam, then a new companion of the Doctor's, winds up in a future news station and gets tempted at the prospect of using future knowledge in his relative present to make money. This indirectly endangers the Doctor, who nonetheless escapes unharmed. The Doctor's punishment? [[spoiler: Taking Adam back to the present, with a future device in his head that opens panels to his brain whenever someone snaps their fingers. He tells Adam, a child genius who's seen the future first-hand, that if he wants to escape being dissected by the government for his future tech, he has to live a dull life.]]** The Time Lords. Despite being the "most powerful and mighty race in the universe" and ostensibly the BigGood by default, Time Lords encountered over the course of the classic series tended to be rude, condescending and incredibly corrupt, having been born into a society that had grown so decadent and stagnant over millions of years, that the Doctor claimed it was one of the reasons [[DefectorFromDecadence he left]].* Rodney [=McKay=] of ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' is about as rude, obnoxious and anti-social as they come, but despite his vocal cowardliness he's one of the first to put his life on the line for the greater good, and is capable of [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome truly awesome]] heroics whenever his internal "Chance of Impending Doom" gauge redlines.** Also, there's Ronon Dex, who can be outright mean, is hard to get to know, and takes a long time for him to warm up to you enough to trust you as a friend. But when that time comes, he's a fierce fighter.** To a lesser extent, O'Neill of ''Series/StargateSG1''. He's clearly far more comfortable with kicking evildoers' asses than making friends. [[TheConscience That's what Daniel was for]].* Merrick in ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' starts out this way. He fights alongside the others, but he won't join them on their downtime,, Hans out in a bar when at least one team member is underage, and actively pushes them away when his personal demon comes back to claim him. He mellows as the season goes on, and by a few episodes before the end he's describing them as his friends. * Michael Westen of ''Series/BurnNotice''. Always fights for the good guys, the underdog, those with no other place to go--and he and his cohorts have been damned ruthless while doing so, including Sam Axe [[spoiler:shooting a pistol into the ground as he listens to a rather hysterical stand-off between two Bad Guys of the Week. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome The next sounds you hear are some fatal gunshots]]. Though in case you felt bad for them [[JerkassVictim they kidnapped a kid and were going to kill him]].]]* [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Spike]] in ''Series/{{Angel}}''. During a brief stint at Angel's old job of helping the helpless, he stops a vampire from killing a woman. He then proceeds to insult the crap out of her for being dumb enough to be walking down a dark alley dressed the way she is.** Hell, Angel in ''Series/{{Angel}}'' is this trope, for the most part. Reason #3 describes him rather well.* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':** [[LovableAlphaBitch Cordelia Chase]] when she is on this show (and to a lesser degree on ''Series/{{Angel}}'') is selfish, abrasive, and when not being ''intentionally'' rude is still staggeringly tactless. On the other hand when it comes to fighting the bad guys she's as brave as anyone else, loyal and brutally honest.--> [[BrutalHonesty "Tact is just not saying true stuff".]]** Also, Giles. Despite how he acted in the first few seasons, he's often one of the most sarcastic and foul-mouthed people on the show (never picked up on by most due to him using mostly [[DidNotDoTheBloodyResearch British swears]]). Plus, he'll kill humans if he must, an opinion only shared by him until Season 8.** Faith before her FaceHeelTurn.** Wishverse Buffy certainly wasn't nice, or even helpful, for that matter, instead expecting people to point her in the direction of what needs killing.* Keisuke Nago follows this trope to the letter in ''Series/KamenRiderKiva'', to the point where ''all five'' reasons listed in the opening paragraphs that a person could experience this trope apply to him. He eventually mellows out, but it takes half the series to happen.** [[Series/KamenRiderDecade Tsukasa Kadoya]] is similarly a massive jerk to everyone he meets, though he [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold swiftly softens]] because he has at least three [[MoralityPet Morality Pets]]: [[{{Tsundere}} Natsumi]], [[IdiotHero Yuusuke]], and eventually an alternate universe version of [[Series/KamenRiderStronger Tackle]]. It's implied he's so jerkish because he feels resigned to his fate as the Destroyer of Worlds, something everyone except the aforementioned three keep telling him over and over.** [[Series/KamenRiderKabuto Tendou Souji]] is an InsufferableGenius who has no problem showing people how much better he is than all of them. Like Tsukasa though, he has two MoralityPet in his sisters, Juka and [[spoiler: Hiyori]]. His friendship with [[IdiotHero Kagami]] also cause him to soften up a little and by the end of the series, it's pretty clear he cares a lot about the people close to him.** [[Series/KamenRiderGaim Roshuo]] may be the least evil of the Overlords, but his [[EstablishingCharacterMoment first full appearance has him gruesomely murder a major character]], redirect {{Kill SAT}}s to USA when they fired upon Zawame, and causing Helheim to invade the world ''en masse''. However, he gave said major character a chance to run, gave humanity a chance when confronted, and found the good in someone that TheQuisling left in his care after she reminds him of his ''own'' MoralityPet that he lost long ago.* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'': Sergeant James Doakes is an anti-social JerkAss with a penchant for violence, but a damn fine cop and a good person at the end of the day.* Jacob on ''Series/{{Lost}}''. While he may work to good ends, he doesn't seem to care much about what happens to the people he uses along the way to achieve those ends. So much so that for much of the final season fans frequently speculated online that in the end Jacob would turn out to be the evil one and the Man In Black the good one.* Saul Tigh of ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}'' is an unfriendly, grumpy bastard with an alcohol addiction and is the first to call out for the execution of a Cylon. He's also LawfulGood, fiercely loyal to his best friend and superior Bill Adama and is not afraid to sacrifice himself if necessary.** Doc Cottle is a gruff old man who mouths off to people and absolutely ''refuses'' to put out his cigarette even when patients request it, but he's a good surgeon who takes his job very seriously regardless of who the patinet is. He also has no problem pulling rank over both Admiral Adama ''and'' President Roslin when they're doing something needlessly risky that just happens to be a medical issue.* Summer Roberts from ''Series/TheOC'' can be bitchy, rude, and inconsiderate, but she also saves Christmas when needed.* Captain [[TheCaptain Dylan Hunt]] of the ''[[Series/{{Andromeda}} Andromeda Ascendant]]''. Perfectly nice and agreeable guy and eternal optimist. He is also a seasoned military officer who has started a war, destroyed thousands of ships in one fell swoop, and if you screw him over, he will drag you down with him and let you experience the results first hand. "Right now, my bad day is your bad day, enjoy the view."* Gibbs in ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' is a non-fantasy version of this. He's certainly good, and never would be described as nice. He's rarely really mean, but sometimes he is. Reasons 3 and most of 4 apply (we're never given the impression he actually wants to be a nice guy).* Elliot Stabler in ''LawAndOrderSVU'' can be a JerkWithAHeartOfGold- but he enforces the law and is on the side of good.** Well, he enforces criminal law, but tends to be a bit more flexible with the constitutional rights of defendants, and has a nasty habit of injuring suspects. A good guy to have fighting for your interests, but not the guy you want investigating you if you're innocent. He'll get to the right answer, but it'll be a bumpy ride.* Patrick Jane in ''TheMentalist''. He catches killers, thieves and rapists, but he is not nice, frequently pissing off other law enforcement officials just because he can. He'll also embarrass his teammates and blurt out secrets for no real reason. And he never, ever comes out and says anything relevant if he can set up an elaborate way to trick it out of someone instead. He does have a soft spot for children, but that's it. It's often mentioned that if he wasn't so damn good at what he does, he'd have been fired or possibly killed by now.* In ''Series/LostInOz'', Bellaridere's soldiers capture Alex and company, and she's essentially blackmailing them to fight the Witch. On the other hand, she does have the best interests of Oz in mind.* The title character of ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' is this in spades. He helps solve crimes, but only because he'd be bored without cases to keep him occupied. He tends to ignore any sort of human element to his cases and has been self-diagnosed as a sociopath.-->''I may be on the side of the angels, but don't think for one ''second'' that I am one of them.''* Deputy Chief Brenda Lee Johnson in ''Series/TheCloser'' will fight for her people and for the victims of crime, but will run rough-shod over anyone and everyone (including her husband the FBI agent) to solve her case. In one notable episode she was after this rich young punk who has fled to Mexico after raping and killing his family's Mexican maid. Brenda threatens to charge his mother with aiding and abetting his escape unless he explained the entire thing to her. He cheerfully does so and then arrogantly tells Brenda she can't touch him. Brenda agrees that this is true, but then she points out that he is in a Mexican police station with two Mexican police officers who understand English standing behind him and he just confessed to raping and murdering a Mexican girl. They promptly arrest him for the rape and murder and drag him away to a life sentence in Mexican prison, stated to be far worse for him than the similar sentence in US prison. Even Brenda acknowledges that she may have gone a little too far to close this case.** Several later seasons revolve around one case in which Johnson released a suspect who she could not convict, after making his gangster friends believe that he had sold them out. [[spoiler:They murder him. Brenda knew that would happen, and a wrongful death lawsuit nearly cripples her unit over the next season.]]* On ''Series/{{Leverage}}'', Nate is this in spades, being able to manipulate others at will without concern over their well being apart from helping people. This is also true for the rest of the team in many ways, though all of them are more kind than Nate, who is generally seen as a bastard by most. He also has IntelligenceEqualsIsolation as well.* Parodied on ''Series/{{Monk}}''. Monk is so demanding of his dry cleaners that he is charged extra, and eventually banned from the place. Of course the murderer is a more courteous customer. Even after being informed of his deeds, the dry cleaner still thinks the murderer is a better customer than Monk.* The Monitors, and quite possibly the staff, from ''TowerPrep''.* Derek Hale of ''Series/TeenWolf'' actually devotes himself to protecting others, but is rarely sociable even to those closest to him and does not maintain the pretense of friendship even with people like Scott and Stiles, who he will readily risk his life to protect. There are times when he seems to want to be more neutrally-aligned, but he invariably goes back to helping people despite himself. His [[DestructiveRomance past history]] serves to explain his desire to keep others at a distance.* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'': Reese, especially towards Fusco.* Mark Fallon on the ''Series/{{Castle}}'' episodes "Setup" and "Countdown". He is a Homeland Security agent assigned to help track down a bomb. He is an [[KnightInSourArmor extremely dour]] sort but he is dedicated to his job and does it well. His dourness as it turns out comes from the fact that his wife was killed on 9-11.* DS Barbara Havers of ''TheInspectorLynleyMysteries'' is without a doubt a truly ''good'' character. She's just... not nice. At all. This is thanks to StepfordSnarker tendencies and a complete inability to believe anything but the worst of anyone [[CharacterDevelopment until she's paired up with the eponymous]] [[DefrostingIceQueen Inspector Lynley]].* Captain Jonathan Archer in season 3 of ''Star Trek: Enterprise''. The entirety of season 3 is an arc in which the crew of the Enterprise must go on a mission to stop aliens who intend to destroy the Earth. Needless to say, Captain Archer takes his responsibility pretty seriously, and goes to some lengths to ensure his mission is a success. This includes [[spoiler:torturing an alien to get information out of him by deoxygenating the room he's in, as well as creating a fully conscious clone of one of his crew who is badly injured, so that he can harvest its organs to give to the crew member.]]* Hank Schrader from ''Series/BreakingBad''. He's a wisecracking jerk, but also an exceptional agent who deals with extremely dangerous criminals. * [[Series/TwentyFour Jack Bauer]] only has the security of the United States in mind but he didn't get to [[TropeNamer name his own trope]] by [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique cordially asking his captives to reveal their secrets]].* Det. Scotty Valens from ''ColdCase'' would certainly justify. Although he was originally rougher in the earlier episodes, he still had plenty of JerkAss tendencies about him such as having a HairTriggerTemper, not afraid of resorting to violence when it called for it, being controntational with suspects, even the ''innocent'' ones and mocked some victims and their loved ones at times (one episode even had him ''[[WhatTheHellHero snickering at the thought of a dead, overweight cold case victim being involved with a handsome man who had recently committed suicide over her.)]]'' Yet to fans, [[DesignatedHero he's the second most popular character on the show after Lily.]]** Det. Nick Vera qualifies, too.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]* David Eugene Edwards' lyrics for Music/SixteenHorsepower and Music/WovenHand are heavily inspired by Literature/TheBible (see the Religion section, below). Thus, the overwhelming majority of fans find Edwards' portrayal of a supremely good God rather frightening, even though Edwards has has insisted that he isn't trying to write "dark" lyrics.* Music/DavidByrne's song "The Gates of Paradise" is either an example of this or of KnightTemplar. It's unclear how sincere the song's narrator is when he sings:-->And the laws of Man are not the laws of Heaven,\\and the Angels' breath is like the desert wind,\\and terrorists are acting out of love, sweet love,\\to bring us home again.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]* A fair amount of wrestlers who are [[{{Face}} fan favorites]] can definitely come across as this, most especially in DarkerAndEdgier programming like the Wrestling/AttitudeEra. Expect them to not only be ruthless competitors in the ring, but also expect them to intimidate referees, pick on interviewers and commentators, [[TrashTalk trash-talking their opponents]], or even [[HeadbuttingHeroes get into fights with other fan favorites who are just as edgy as they are]]. In short, they're faces who act like heels.* A study of his matches reveals that even superface Wrestling/HulkHogan would often pull out heel moves or tactics to fight and win, even in his original 80's glory days: he was fond of back rakes (a heel move), and more than once defeated his foe by throwing 'bad powder' into their face.* Wrestling/{{Sting}} could be considered this, since he is a face, but kind of a jerk.* Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin. A [[PrecisionFStrike foul mouthed]], [[{{Beergasm}} beer chugging]], [[{{Jerkass}} asshole]] who hates his [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon boss]] and fights for the good guys.* Wrestling/CheerleaderMelissa is capable of being nice, but usually is not. She'll usually tease and taunt her peers and all but physically dissect her opponents, going well beyond the means to get a three count, and that how she's been known to treat people she likes and or respects. What she reserves for people she really doesn't like often requires them to be lead out on stretchers and yet she's spent a good deal of her career getting audience approval.* Wrestling/RandyOrton. His past times include performing his finisher on women, punting a lot of people in the head hard enough to hospitalize them, and trying to [[AxCrazy kill]] Wrestling/JohnCena with pyrotechnics during a match. These days, his attitude hasn't changed much, but he's just decided to use his violent tactics on Heels.** Hell, recently he punted all of the [[Wrestling/TheNexus New Nexus]], Wrestling/ChrisJericho, RKO-ed [[Wrestling/RonKillings R-Truth]] into a table twice, kicked Wrestling/{{Christian}} [[GroinAttack in the nuts]] because he spat in his face, and has a street fight with him on the next episode of Wrestling/WWESmackDown. Lets remember that a street fight is a no holds barred match that can take place anywhere in the arena, and Randy Orton has actually tried to ''use fireworks to kill an opponent''. And he REALLY doesn't like Christian.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Religion and Mythology]]* Literature/TheBible: God is always good, according to Himself and His prophets (His victims always never get a voice in the Bible), but even they have to admit He isn't always nice. This trope also applies to Jesus, despite how He is perceived in modern times. For example, when the temple had been turned into a literal den of thieves, He started overturning tables and drove out the money changers with a whip, and His public debates with the Pharisees frequently utilized scathing (if not also well-deserved) insults that left His opponents the laughingstock of bystanders.** On that note, Traditional Christian Sects (Catholicism, Orthodoxy, some Protestant sects) are all over this trope. Telling your coworker when he asks if you think he is going to hell for rejecting God? That's not nice. But being nice would be lying. Paradoxically these Religions also impose social strictures that require you to put a value on personal dignity in social engagements, (particularly relevant to western civilization would be chivalry), so sometimes it is hard to decide where one should stop being nice in order to do good.** There are plenty of examples in the Old Testament where God provides some pretty harsh punishments to the wicked and sometimes the innocent. A good, well known example being the Ten Plagues of Egypt, the last of which involves killing thousands of innocent Egyptian children.** There are also times where God also gives His followers hardships in life if it is only to [[CrisisOfFaith test out their faith in Him]], much like what He did to Job. Of course, He will make it better in the end since [[OmniscientMoralityLicense He has sovereign control over everything in the universe]].** This could also be applied to His use of death as a tool. Assuming that He has the capacity to judge any soul the moment it dies (Christian canon attests to this), He can call up someone's number whenever He wants, as the Book of Job calls to attention. Under this interpretation, "Let God sort them out" isn't wrong then because God 'can't' sort them out, it's wrong because when a person does that without specific judgement, they're presuming the right to non-defensively kill another- something a human doesn't have.** Some methods of preaching can be considered this. While some of it may be encouraging and heartwarming, some of it can be ''very'' blunt and reprimanding, especially if it deals with [[HumansAreFlawed humanity being on a low moral scale]]. With that, preaching is used to [[DarkShepherd scare others straight into the path of righteousness]].** Just a number of biblical figures in The Bible are this. There's Nathan who harshly rebukes David for committing adultery while leading [[TheUriahGambit Uriah killed in war]], there's Elisha summoning {{bears|AreBadNews}} to attack a group of young men for [[DisproportionateRetribution mocking his bald head]], Samuel [[PunishedForSympathy chastising King Saul for sparing only King Agag of the Amalekites and their animals]], and there's the Literature/BookOfPsalms which a lot of verses involve David [[PrayerOfMalice praying that the sinners will be mercilessly punished by God]].* Angels. When God decided that a city shall be visited by an angel and not a prophet, it's because the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of that city had continuously committed vile actions, in which case the angel brought utter destruction to them. Should have listened to the nice guy who sided with the poor and the downtrodden... (The first thing most angels say is, "Fear not!" That implies that angels are scary.)* Odin in NorseMythology is quite explicitly a lying, manipulative bastard who does very little for humanity as a whole in the short term. He's also doing all he can to avart the end of the world as long as possible and be as prepared for it as possible if he can't stop it, to the extent that he just doesn't have the time or manpower[[note]]Godpower?[[/note]] to deal with lesser matters, like being anywhere near nice.* The Gods and Heroes in Greek Mythology. Like Heracles who was the symbol of the typical Greek hero, he's also a BoisterousBruiser uses is super strength to do what ever he feels like doing, and has slain numerous monsters with his own bare hands, plus he had a lot of affairs with plenty of...[[AnythingThatMoves people]] in his run. ** His father Zeus who is BigGood in Greek Mythology, who cheats on his wife Hera, and strikes lightning bolts, or cast curses on people he doesn't like, [[IncrediblyLamePun weather]] they deserve it or not.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]* High Elves in WarhammerFantasy. True, they are the most noble faction in the setting and have saved the world many times in history, but this doesn't change the fact that they're a bunch of arrogant, uppity and haughty bastards who patronise humans, shun their Wood Elf cousins and hate pretty much everyone else.** As are the human domains, Empire and Bretonnia. And they are supposed to be ''good'' guys.** Lizardmen combine this with BlueAndOrangeMorality. They're continuing the [[{{Precursors}} Old One]]'s plan before they up and left, which is to reset the world to the way it was. They're the foremost enemies of Chaos, and many of the targets of their genocides are [[AlwaysChaoticEvil irredeemably evil]] creatures like the [[YouDirtyRat Skaven]]. WordOfGod has compared them to LawfulNeutral.* ''[[DarthWiki/TheChroniclesOfFate Chaos]]''. The main protagonist civilization or empire, [[{{Antihero}} the Revs/Union]] (depending on time period) really don't deny being bad people who [[AMillionisaStatistic kill, conquer, and convert googolplexes and googolplexes of innocent people on a daily basis]], they simply point out that their enemies — [[LawfulEvil the Archons and their servants]] — kill far more than even ''that'', and are working tirelessly to [[RetGone ensure the destruction of ALL life and existence in ALL multiverses]]. They need an endlessly vast army to combat this, plain and simple, and however they get it, [[IDidWhatIHadtoDo it's justified]] because of [[FromBadtoWorse the alternative]]. The Revs/Union [[ChurchMilitant explicitly carry an allegiance to the cause of cosmic Good]], but that doesn't spare from their wrath anyone who has to be destroyed in order that many more may survive and be free.* In the table-top RPG ''TabletopGame/InNomine'', many of the angels would fall into this category, most notably the Seraphim, who are blunt as a brick to the head (except when they decide to tie the truth in knots), have egos the size of California, and generally find humans annoying, and the Malakim who are serious hardcore {{Proud Warrior Race Guy}}s. The only groups of angels that could be considered unequivocally "nice" from a human perspective are the Mercurians.** In Seraphim's defense they 'are' the angels of Truth, which can be painful at times. Plus the thing that really annoys many of them is the self depreciating lies that people tell themselves. Lying to yourself is one thing but even the most loathsome demons have the good sense to tell themselves 'happy' lies. Malakim don't need to be {{Proud Warrior Race Guy}}s, in fact the Archangel Laurence (who most Malakim not under Hostile A.A.s point to as their role model) is somewhere between a KnightInShiningArmor and a KnightTemplar depending on how GreyAndGrayMorality you want your game. Actually the most ProudWarriorRaceGuy in the game is Michael and he's a Seraph.* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' paladins, especially those who veer towards KnightTemplar or the LawfulStupid end of the scale.** In 3.5, the Book of Exalted Deeds directly says that good does not mean nice.** ''Complete Scoundrel'' introduces a Paladin PrestigeClass called Gray Guard that ''is'' this trope. The illustration even shows a Gray Guard strangling a necromancer. A Gray Guard is a paladin who [[CombatPragmatist fights dirty]], and can turn his [[HealingHands lay on hands]] ability into a variant on the JackBauerInterrogationTechnique. Imagine Bryan Mills from Film/{{Taken}} with a sword and a [[KnightInSourArmor not-so-shiny armor]].** The AlwaysLawfulGood metallic dragons are just as egotistical and arrogant as their AlwaysChaoticEvil chromatic cousins. All dragons, good or evil, in D&D believe they are the most awesome creatures in existence and boy does it show. [[InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons They're not exactly wrong.]]** Even good gods are quite apt to find a tough test for their followers -- a textbook example is being sent to find a specific flower in FireAndBrimstoneHell and bring it back. Immortals of ''{{Mystara}}'' are divided only by Sphere of influence and not CharacterAlignment, so they have even less obligations on this side.** Lathander is one of the most benevolent deities in the ''Forgotten Realms'', but God help you if you're a necromancer.** The cake goes to Rafiel -- he's a caring guy in his own way, but plays with his Shadow Elf (prototype of drow!) followers TheEndJustifiesTheMeans hard enough to convince everyone else he's the exemplary case of LightIsNotGood (which is a part of his plan too).** There is also Ben-hadar, the ruler of Good-aligned water elementals. His gruff demeanor usually causes him to be perceived as an arrogant, selfish boor, so he has few allies, and most say he truly pushes the limit of what can be called "good". This is emphasized by the fact that he feuds with two other good-aligned elemental lords, Chan and Zaaman Rul (who view him as an isolationist with a repugnant personality) and maintains truces with both the yugoloth lord Cerlic and the [[MadArtist Slaad Lord Rennbuu.]] Still, he opposes evils like Bwimb, who sought to pollute the Elemental Plane of Water, and maintains strong alliances with a few good entities, including Queen Morwel or the eldarin, Deep Sashelas, Eadro, Persana, and the enigmatic Water Lion.* The Salamanders chapter in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. Absolutely relentless in battle, a chapter of {{Scary Black M|an}}en ( their skin becomes "onyx black" as they undergo the Space Marine transformation due to a genetic flaw) with RedEyesTakeWarning and a KillItWithFire fighting style. However, the good part here is from how they actually care about the people they protect and find the thought of harming civilians disgusting, even punching out another chapter master for even thinking of it. Amongst this KnightTemplar Warrior Race, this respect for innocent lives is only shared by Chapters like The Space Wolves, The Raven Guard and The Ultramarines. The Salamanders and Ultramarines are the closest thing this universe has to LawfulGood and the Space Wolves are the closest thing to ChaoticGood.** It's not actually that uncommon. The Celestial Lions are another notably humanitarian chapter, as are the Iron Snakes and presumably many of the other Ultramarines-derived successor chapters (and the majority of successor chapters are of Ultramarines stock). The majority of the first founding chapters at least try to keep civilian casualties to a minimum.** On the opposite end of the spectrum you have the Black Templars. Definitely the good guys from the Imperium's standpoint, the hardest working and most pious Space Marine chapter. They have fought a crusade against aliens for 10,000 years, but they are willing to do things like sacrifice millions of human lives to kill an alien psyker that stood in the Imperium's way.** In one story we see a Black Templar attack from the perspective of a simple human farmer when the battles over his farm is destroyed and he prays that they will never come back because they scared him more than the Orks they had fought. He even pitied the Orks for being in such a CurbStompBattle** The [[AmazonBrigade Adepta Sororitas]] are described as "[[IncorruptiblePurePureness shining examples of all that is good about humanity]]" by numerous Creator/GamesWorkshop sources. Even what are unequivocally the nicest of the Sisters, the Sisters Hospitaller who are beloved across the Imperium as saints for their [[TheMedic tireless (and almost always selfless) medical work]], will gladly torture a heretic for information and then kill them in a very painful way.** Actually, ''everyone'' who you could consider to be "good guys" in the setting are not nice.** To simplify things about the setting, [[TheEmpire the Imperium]] is the [[DesignatedHero Designated Protagonist Faction]], and, DependingOnTheWriter (or whether it's a novel or background material), its members can range from being genuinely holy crusaders to being truly monstrous. Or both at once.** The Eldar as a whole generally fall into this trope if you get past the ValuesDissonance. Their race is dying, and they're out to preserve their society and their people; they are the only faction in the setting to which a non-zero number of casualties is an unacceptable number. However, their goal is to preserve ''[[OurElvesAreBetter Eldar]]'' life, and they won't give a rat's ass if it turns out that they need to [[FantasticRacism kill untold numbers of anyone else]] to save a few of their own.** In the fan setting ''Brighthammer 40,000'', this is the defining trait of the Lords of Order, the MirrorUniverse counterpart to the Chaos Gods. They're as unarguably good and benevolent as their Canon counterparts are evil and malevolent... but they're still ultimately alien manifestations of raw human emotion that can be truly dangerous if offended or treated carelessly.* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': White is usually the "good" color, but they're not always very nice. ** For example, the Boros Legion of Ravnica are the police and army and use a combination of White and Red mana. They're generally the ones most concerned with justice and keeping the citizens safe from lawbreakers or other such groups (such as the Cult of Rakdos). Their defining quote comes from the card [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=366435 Boros Charm]]: "''Practice compassion and mercy. But know when they must end.''"** Urza. In the process of trying to save his world from an invasion, he causes multiple cataclysmic events and blatantly manipulates evryone he comes into contact with.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theater]]* UsefulNotes/JohnAdams in ''Theatre/SeventeenSeventySix'' definitely fits. He's an early promoter of the cause of independence ... and so obnoxious, abrasive, rude, arrogant, and snarky that he's even detested by most of his friends.-->'''Creator/BenjaminFranklin''': (referring to the Declaration of Independence): Why don't you write it yourself John?-->'''John Adams''': I am obnoxious and disliked.-->'''Benjamin Franklin''': That's true John.* Lampshaded by the Witch in a kind of reverse way in ''IntoTheWoods''-->You're so nice-->You're not Good-->You're not Bad-->You're just nice-->I'm not Good-->I'm not nice-->I'm just right.** From the [[IntoTheWoods same musical,]] this trope is almost directly quoted by Little Red Riding Hood in "I Know Things Now."-->And take extra care with strangers-->Even flowers have their dangers-->And though scary is exciting,-->Nice is different than good.* Elphaba in ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'' could be considered an example of this.* Leo Frank in ''Theatre/Parade'' may be the lead protagonist but he starts out as cold and looking down at the Southerners around him.[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]* Squall from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII''. [[CharacterDevelopment He gets better]], but still never becomes a paragon of niceness. Another Final Fantasy example is Shadow from ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI VI]]''.* Gene from ''GodHand'' is a snarky, somewhat childish demon-hunter. His female protectee and love interest also shows traces of this trope.* The ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' series has a number of these kind of characters:** Shadow the Hedgehog after his HeelFaceTurn. His heart is in the right place, but he is aloof and apathetic which makes him come off as cold and uncaring towards people. His ego and violent tendencies also rub others the wrong way.** Knuckles The Echidna is this. Even if he's on the side of good, his hot-temper and hostile demeanor can make others find him difficult to get along with. Despite this, he can be friendly, at least as long as he's in a good mood.** Blaze the Cat started off as a cold and antisocial loner, but it only took Cream's influence for her to accept others, at least slightly.* Zero from ''VideoGame/MegaManX''. He was GoodIsNotSoft for the first three games, but after [[MegaManX4 he has to kill Iris]], he goes through a HeroicBSOD and adapts a JerkassFacade.* Baird in ''GearsOfWar'' is a complete JerkAss but he's still a loyal member of Delta Squad.* Harpuia in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero''. He's an honorable, well-intentioned HeroAntagonist, but the only people he's ''nice'' to are his siblings.* Cody from the ''FinalFight'' series, as he appears in the ''StreetFighter'' series. After defeating the Mad Gear gang, he went on to pick fights for no good reason until he got himself thrown in prison. Even then, he not only continued to pick fights, but would break out of prison for no reason other than boredom. While his former ally Guy believes he still has a sliver of good in him, Cody will just shrug and continue being a dick.* Yuan from ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' is snarky, [[FigureItOutYourself impatient when the heroes need things explained]], [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder apparently changes sides without warning]]... and is doing everything in his power to save the world from the BigBad. [[WellIntentionedExtremist No matter who's in his way.]] In fact, it's a little iffy to label him "Good", except that [[spoiler:he ends up (somewhat reluctantly) on the party's side, when it becomes clear that they actually might succeed... and that they're the only ones in the world with a chance.]]** Asch from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' takes this trope UpToEleven. He works as a DoubleAgent in part of helping out the heroes by keeping them in the loop of the BigBad's plans. The problem is, he is a verbally abusive, ill-tempered {{Jerkass}} who prefers to [[IneffectualLoner work alone]]. His fiancé isn't one to be spared from his wrath, either, even if she is the only one who can draw an ounce of anything resembling [[PetTheDog compassion]] from this cold individual.** Considering he's essentially a [[MoralSociopathy sociopath,]] that he allegedly killed small animals as a child and scavenged corpses from battlefields, and that he's the MadDoctor who [[spoiler: invented fomicry,]] ''and'' that he's the one who [[spoiler: suggests Luke kill himself to dissipate the miasma,]] Jade Curtiss should count too. He also spends the better part of the game mercilessly snarking at people, even in their most mentally tender moments. He's ''really'' brutal to Luke after [[spoiler: Akzeriuth,]] and he's not much nicer to Guy after finding out about [[spoiler: the circumstances of Mary's death and Guy's condition.]] He's much more of a JerkWithAHeartOfGold than Asch is, though, but you still have to look really hard to find it.* Doctor Magnusson from ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life 2}}: Episode Two'' is temperamental, impatient, and arrogant. He's also capable, in his own way, of showing genuine gratitude.** Some players actually find it surprising and a little heartwarming that the guy thanks you, because they know it took an almost superhuman effort for him to admit that he's grateful.* The Brotherhood of Steel in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' are some of the purest good guys in Fallout 1 and 3, and neutral in the other games. With some exceptions, they're also arrogant bastards who are more than willing to let innocents die in the pursuit of their long-term goals for the revival and salvation of humanity.** ''New Vegas'' however has them gunning down unarmed humanitarians for daring to think about taking in a former member, and attacking anyone with any tech higher than a lightbulb This led to them starting a war with the other Good Is Not Nice faction, [[TheFederation the NCR]], because the NCR actually wanted to use their technology to improve the lives of citizens. By the events of New Vegas, the NCR has killed off most of the Brotherhood.*** This is a plot point; the Brotherhood had suffered MotiveDecay by the time they declared war on the NCR, becoming too elitist and forgetting who they were supposed to be helping. ** Mind you, you can play your PlayerCharacter like this too, save everyone, but be a dick about it.** The New California Republic is a post-war federation with a democratic government, a strong military, safe territories, and a very high standard of living by post-apocalypse standards. They're dedicated to the ideas of liberty, justice, and rule of law. However, their military can get heavy handed in their efforts to put down their enemies, their government is corrupt, and they do many morally questionable things over the course of the games, including hiring mercenaries to terrorize Vault City ([[KickTheSonOfABitch a racist, slavery-based city state]]), dealing with the Bishop crime family in order to annex New Reno, hunting down Enclave members who never took an active part in the Enclave-NCR War years after it is over, using 'enhanced interrogation' on prisoners, and occasionally shooting surrendering enemies. They're still by far the nicest faction in the series.** In the ''Honest Hearts'' DLC, we have Joshua Graham, the former Malpais Legate (now a good guy again). While he truly cares for the tribals he's sworn to defend, he is a completely over-the-top PapaWolf who will (and has) gone to great lengths to prove that fucking with those under his protection will result in the Wrath Of God killing the hell out of you. [[spoiler: However, depending on how things play out, you can either encourage him to take this to it's logical, ultraviolent conclusion, or help him temper his ultraviolence for a good cause with a little mercy.]]*** The [[Videogame/{{Fallout1}} first game]] gave us Set, leader of the Necropolis ghouls. Set is a massive {{Jerkass}} and openly contemptuous of everyone who is not a ghoul. However, as a leader his rule is quite righteous and just. He doesn't take violent action against those who oppose him, provides his town with clean water, allows outsiders to roam freely during daylight hours and refused to hand over the non-ghouls he claims to hate to the BigBad. All in all, his track record is far better than that of most wasteland leaders.* Solid Snake of ''Franchise/MetalGear'', especially in the first game, where he's a flirtatious asshole who bluntly tells you he can't be bothered getting to know you. In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', he ends up doing some very douchey things for very good reasons.** Raiden becomes this as of ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance''. He genuinely wants to protect the innocent, and has a very soft spot for ChildSoldiers forced into fighting like he was. But he won't hesitate to dice other cyborgs to bits. He goes into full-on KnightTemplar mode when he finds out about [[spoiler: the children who's brains were removed and put into VR training to become cyborg soldiers against their will]], evoking his [[SociopathicHero Jack The Ripper]] persona and massacring anyone who stands in his way, including (albeit [[DirtyCop corrupt]]) police officers to stop the bad guys [[spoiler: and rescue the children's brains]]. * ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' Archer, Archer, Archer. To be fair, he would seem like less of a (rather badass) jerk if he wasn't always going up against Shirou. Almost all of the above examples apply to him. [[spoiler:The constant [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder switching of sides]] really muddies the issue of whether he's 'good' or not for a while. As a matter of fact, he's TrueNeutral.]]* Some of your allies in the ''{{Suikoden}}'' series can come off as complete jerks who you nonetheless respect [[BunnyEarsLawyer because they're good at what they do]]. [[SuikodenII Shu]] and [[SuikodenV Zerase]] immediately spring to mind.* Cenarius from ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III'' is shown to be rather rude, arrogant, and threatening [[StupidityIsTheOnlyOption so the player will be more eager to kill him]].** He's just topping the Night Elves' performance. Rather than informing Grom that he's trespassing on their land (which wouldn't have stopped him), their solution was to launch a series of aggressive raids on the orcs. In fact, night elves' attitude in [=WC3=] was generally "shoot first, ask questions later".** Maiev, leader of the Wardens, got an increasingly concentrated dose of this in ''The Frozen Throne''. She was utterly obsessed with capturing Illidan, her efforts [[HeWhoFightsMonsters gradually becoming more and more fanatical as time passed]].* Freaking Marietta from the ''VideoGame/DeptHeaven'' series. She's a {{Jerkass}} KnightTemplar who spends much of ''KnightsInTheNightmare'' kicking little puppies, [[spoiler:killing you]], imposing {{Sadistic Choice}}s, and flat-out denying that [[SociopathicHero Meria]] has any right to be alive at all. The only way to get her to be ''even slightly'' kind to you is to jump when she tells you to, no matter how much it grates. She's also a guardian of order and has extremely strict good intentions, sort of. To the surprise of ''no one'', by the time of ''RivieraThePromisedLand'' [[ItWasHisSled she's already become a]] FallenHero.* Jimmy Hopkins from ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}'' IS this trope. * Jaheira from the ''BaldursGate'' sequels, where it otherwise looks like she's not living up (down?) to her obligatory druidic TrueNeutral [[CharacterAlignment alignment]], is still a blunt know-it-all with no patience for people who don't happen to see things her way or who happen to annoy her through no fault of their own.** [[spoiler: Balthazar from ''Throne of Bhaal'']] may the TokenGoodTeammate to [[spoiler: the Five, who's plotting their downfall,]] but he still seizes control of a city and rules it with an iron fist to do so, while not lifting a finger to stop the mercenaries he hired from bullying the townsfolk.* If You choose to play non-lethal in ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'', Adam is Essentially Batman with cybernetics.* Hakumen from ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'': One of the six legendary heroes who stopped the Black Beast. Is a dick. Not a total one, though.** From the same game, Ragna the Bloodedge has taken part in a [[OneManArmy one-man campaign of mass murder]] against the NOL, the body governing ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'''s world. He's also the closest thing that this CrapsackWorld has to a hero by being one of the few willing and able to take on the oppressive government, and consistently shows that, despite his rough exterior, [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold he's a good man]].** If his [[TookALevelInBadass newly found levels in badass]] and [[PetTheDog dog petting]], plus his apparent HeelFaceTurn at the end of ''Continuum Shift'', are any indication, Jin looks set to become this. Probably a bit more emphasis on the [[JerkAss "not nice"]] part, though.* Godot in ''Franchise/AceAttorney''. He's an outright jerk to Phoenix Wright in court, and the three 'targets' of his prosecuting are a sweet but hapless young woman, a sweet but hapless young man, and [[spoiler: a sweet but secretly conspiring with him young woman.]] However, [[spoiler: all of his actions in the final case were either to avenge Mia, take down Dahlia, or protect Mia's sister Maya.]]** Edgeworth post-''Justice For All'' is an even better example, as his commitment to the truth [[BrutalHonesty doesn't always manifest itself in the most sympathetic ways.]] More than once in the series people have begged him not to say what's on his mind because of the damage it would do to the subject's mental state, but he goes forward anyway because the truth is never something to be turned away from.* The moral choices in ''Franchise/MassEffect'' can be either "Paragon" or [[AntiHero "Renegade"]] - and a Renegade Shepard can be a real ass.** The sequel shows that Paragon Shepard, while generally fitting the description of [[MessianicArchetype The Ultimate Hero]], won't put up with your crap either. Paragon Shepard in [=ME2=] better fits GoodIsNotSoft in contrast to Renegade Shepard, because Renegade Shepard can do some really downright malevolent things. Grunt sums up the Paragon mentality pretty well when he says "You offer one hand, but arm the other. Wise, Shepard." Paragon Shepard starts off nice, but if s/he has a reason to be pissed at you, s/he'll kick your ass just as hard as Renegade Shepard would.*** Case in point, during [[DownLoadableContent Zaeed's]] loyalty mission, there's a part where Zaeed goes out of his way to set off a refinery. The paragon option involves punching Zaeed and asking him [[WhatTheHellHero what the hell he was thinking]], and later on [[spoiler:when Zaeed gets pinned under a girder because he refused to play as a team, the paragon option involves laying out for Zaeed ''exactly'' why acting like a loose cannon isn't going to fly if he wants to stay on the team]]. You can even [[spoiler:leave Zaeed to die there]], but only after completing the main storyline quests.** Mordin also flits between this and GoodIsNotSoft, in that while a doctor driven by a desire to help those in need, he's also quite capable of being incredibly ruthless should the situation warrant it and generally doesn't hesitate in [[ShootTheDog Shooting The Dog]].** Similarly Samara. As a Justicar, she operates by a very strict code that demands that if any even minor wrongdoing is committed in her presence, she must punish it on the spot regardless of her personal feelings or relationships. This even goes as far as killing her own daughter.** Another case in point: on Omega, Shepard encounters a quarian merchant who got stuck there while on Pilgrimage. He's selling salvage to try to get off the station, but another merchant, an elcor named Harrot, is forcing him to sell higher than him to maintain market share. Shepard can talk to Harrot with the traditional Paragon/Renegade dialogue options. The renegade approach is to convince him to shut down the quarian, with the merchant's fate left uncertain. The paragon approach, meanwhile...---> '''Shepard:''' What if you and I made a deal? You let him set his own prices, ''and I won't break your legs''.---> '''Harrot:''' [[IDoNotSpeakNonverbal With barely contained terror:]] You drive a hard bargain, human.** Also on Omega, if Shepard buys a drink from the batarian bartender in Afterlife s/he nearly dies because the bartender poisons it. Afterwards you learn that you're not the first human he poisoned and certainly won't be the last if he continues. The Renegade response is to get the bastard to drink his own poison. The Paragon response is to incite a turian bystander to shoot him for you -- after all, he could easily start poisoning other races too.** Lair of the Shadow Broker: [[spoiler:"I sacrificed thousands of lives to save the Destiny Ascension! I unleashed the rachni on the galaxy! So for your sake, I hope your escape plan doesn't hinge on me hesistating to shoot a damn hostage?!"]] Even more ironic if you went full renegade in the first one only to be a paragon in the sequel: [[spoiler:"I let the Destiny Ascension die with ten thousand people on board, including the council! I personally destroyed the last Rachni Queen! So for your sake, I hope your escape plan doesn't hinge on me hesitating to shoot a damn hostage?!"]]*** Incidentally, those lines are [[spoiler: a successful attempt to intimidate someone taking a hostage into letting their guard down long enough for Liara to free the hostage. Renegade Shepard can also full on show that this was not a bluff, "Nice move, taking a hostage. A Specter does whatever it takes. But you're forgetting something: I'm a Specter, too." And shooting the hostage through the shoulder to wound the hostage taker.]]** Also, in the Overlord DLC, [[spoiler:Shepard, no matter Paragon or Renegade shows absolute disgust and horror at what Gavin Archer did to his brother in the name of Cerberus and the Illusive Man. In the Paragon ending, as Shepard angrily confronts Gavin for trying to shoot him/her, a Paragon QuickTimeEvent comes up to pistol whip him.]]** And one last one involves Conrad Verner, the Renegade plan is to simply force the weapons dealer to apologize to Conrad. The Paragon one sets her up to be arrested as she foolishly believes that Conrad has the situation under the control.** In short, Paragon Shepard, while s/he ''can'' be very kind and supportive depending on the circumstances, is also one of the crowning examples of this trope and also a great example of GoodIsNotDumb and ''the'' Most Triumphant Example of GoodIsNotSoft.** If he [[spoiler:survives Virmire]], Wrex becomes leader of the largest and most powerful krogan clan in VideoGame/MassEffect2. He does everything in his power to make the krogan people a legitimate part of the galactic community, but in a society where {{Klingon Promotion}}s are the norm and {{Blood Knight}}s are plentiful, he has to be [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority pretty damn tough]] to keep his job.* In ''VideoGame/DantesInferno'' the eponymous character has the choice to either "[[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Absolve]]" or "[[VideoGameCrueltyPotential Punish]]" the LegionsOfHell he battles as a FinishingMove. The bright and shining Absolve-based finishers aren't all that much less brutal than their scythe-based Punish counterparts.* CaptainAmerica takes a dose of this in ''MarvelUltimateAlliance''.-->'''Arcade''': Captain America. I'd salute, but I think my arm is broken.\\'''Cap''': Don't be an idiot. Tell me what Doom is up to, or I really will break your arm.\\'''Arcade''': You wouldn't do that, that'd be torture.\\'''Cap''': After [[MindControl what you did to Jean Grey]], it wouldn't be torture, it'd be justice. Now tell me what Doom wants before I do something you'll regret.* The Warden in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' can be a good example. He or she can always choose the more Lawful Good options and save as many innocent people as possible while still being a {{Jerkass}} DeadpanSnarker to everyone they meet.** The Grey Wardens in general fit this trope. While they seek to save Thedas from the Blight, they use rather questionable methods to do so. In particular, they refuse to tell their recruits about the [[BlessedWithSuck risks]] associated with becoming a Warden until after their induction, when it's too late to back out, and are willing to burn down Blight infected villages to prevent the Blight from spreading.* Sam Fisher of ''SplinterCell'', arguably. According to the [[AllThereInTheManual manual,]] he has a strong belief in justice and freedom, as well as a dark sense of humour, a disturbing knowledge of ways to hurt people, and the scariest voice ever.* Reimu Hakurei of ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'', [[BossSubtitles Shrine Maiden of Paradise]], preserver of the Great Boundary, tasked with defending the denizens of Gensokyo from any threat. Also beats the everloving crap out of anyone in her way (including those who didn't have anything to do with what's happening) and has no tolerance for any disturbances, [[GreyAndWhiteMorality regardless of cause or motive]].* Miranda of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon''. She's the First Sacred Sister of Mille Seseau, a combination of princess, general, and priestess for the people of her country. She's also chosen as the White Silver Dragoon, the holiest and gentlest of dragoon spirits. Too bad she's a [[{{Tsundere}} raging bitch]]. [[CharacterDevelopment She gets better]] as the game goes on, but her cynical business-first attitude puts her in stark contrast to her predecessor, [[IncorruptiblePurePureness Shana]].* In ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2: Mask of the Betrayer'', Kaelyn the Dove is a just, noble half-celestial that tries to do good whenever she can. However, she is ''obsessed'' with destroying the [[FateWorseThanDeath Wall of the Faithless]], and is willing to do ''anything'' to tear it down.* Malo of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' claims that even though he can't be a hero, he seeks to end the corruption and inflation in Hyrule Castle Town by bringing [[IncrediblyLamePun heroic business deals]], but often acts blunt towards any unfortunate soul who crosses his path, insulting Link if he doesn't buy anything from his shop.** From the same game, there's Midna, at least up until the first half of the game.* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' games love this trope, the biggest example being the twist in ''The Lost Age'' that the "bad guys" we hunted down in the first game were trying to save the world. Several subplots involve other characters with good intentions but questionable methods.* Some of the Daedra from ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' games ''may'' qualify as this. Daedric lords such as Azura, Meridia, and possibly Nocturnal have reputations for being less malignant and more beneficial to humans than the other lords. However, they aren't necessarily nice. Azura is described simultaneously as being cruel, but also as wise and encouraging her worshipers to love themselves as much as they love her.* Jun Kazama from {{Tekken}} is generally portrayed as pure, however the second Tag game and the animated movie shows she's NotGoodWithPeople. Case in point, Tag 2 allows a trick to select win poses, one being a positive one, a high five, a fist bump, ect. Even with someone who Jun should like she's pretty aloof. It also helps that she's [[OneWingedAngel Unknown,]], who does something most find rather uncomfortable should you lose to her.* Lightning from ''VideoGame/{{Final Fantasy XIII}}'' starts out this way, mainly because [[spoiler:since her parents' deaths]], she has had to put her emotions aside and thinks of everything like a strategy. She manages to soften up significantly after several events where her attitude causes others pain (mainly when Odin is first summoned, when she has a flashback about her last words with Serah, and when she realizes she has encouraged Hope on his revenge path).* Wess from ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}''. Constantly berates his son Duster for everything he does wrong. However, the two of them were the ones whose job it was to retrieve the Hummingbird Egg from Osohe Castle, and he does help Kumatora save Salsa from the even more abusive Fassad.* ''{{Fable 2}}'' invokes this by having a Pure/Corrupt alignment scale in addition to the regular Good/Evil scale for player characters. Your character can become corrupt by doing morally reprehensible, but not per se "evil" actions (like drinking too much, having multiple spouses or charging too much rent), while remaining fundamentally good. The title for being both Good and Corrupt at once is "The Decadent". Conversely, a character can also be Pure Evil and obtain the title "The Fanatic" (Pure Evil is not what it sounds like, that would be the Corrupt Evil alignment, which awards the title "The Ghoul").* In Telltale's ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'': ** You can play Lee Everett as this by picking the more [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] and [[{{Jerkass}} dickish]] dialogue options, but picking the more moral actions when they are presented.** Kenny genuinely cares about everyone in your group, excepting the members who get on your nerves. However, from Episode 2 onwards, he does a lot of Jerkass things, mostly out of pragmatism, though some out of pure anger.* Despite being a prime example of DarkIsNotEvil, Oswald from ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'' can still be cold and ruthless when the need arises. He ''is'' feared and hated throughout Erion for [[BlackKnight being a heartless butcher, after all.]]* Marshall Yatish of ''VideoGame/{{Wildstar}}'', good ''lord.'' If you are a "baddie" and threaten his people or innocents, be prepared to be horrifically murdered, your comrades butchered, your camp burned to the ground, and your corpses strung up as a warning to any present and future "baddies." Keep in mind he is ''[[BadassAdorable a 3 foot high alien rabbit armed only with a spear.]]''* The player character of ''Videogame/{{Dishonored}}'', Corvo Attano, even when played as a pacifist, will show no mercy to his primary targets. The fates he inflicts on them range from physically branding them as outcasts, to having them sent to work in their own mines for the rest of their lives, to handing them over to a stalker who plans to keep them as his sex prisoner. Mind you, they deserve it, but death almost seems a more merciful act at times.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': Roy to a certain extent, who, while being LawfulGood, enjoys verbally lambasting his friends and enemies a bit too much and is even berated for it by several other LawfulGood characters.** The paladins of Azure City are pragmatic in general, cunning to the point of underhandedness when necessary. (Yes, [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0214.html even]] [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0215.html Miko]].)** Miko is socially inept, LawfulStupid, and eventually [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jumps off the slippery slope]], but she's unfailingly courageous and eager to save innocent bystanders.** The deva who evaluates Roy's case rather easily intimidates Eugene from interfering.** Haley has her moments, too. Those who read her origin comic may get MoodWhiplash when they see her friends again. [[spoiler: She kills most of them without hesitation, and in many cases without them even having the chance to surrender or speak in their own defense. Mind, they're there to kill her, too.]]** The same can be said, albeit in different ways, of Durkon. He's LawfulGood to the core, and weeps tears of joy when he realizes that he'll be going home to his people [[spoiler:as a corpse]]. He also has Charisma as his dump stat, so even when people can understand his accent, he comes off gruff.* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius''. After Gil [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090323 delineates]] how Zola is fairly innocuous and in danger -- an idiot, but not malicious -- he is questioned about whether her lack of malice is important. Producing an intimidating burst of rage that if he let every idiot die, there would be few people left alive.** Girl Genius is pretty fond of this trope - practically all of the "good" characters are able to slip into "Evil Demented Genius" mode at a moment's notice. Agatha, Gil and Klaus would be the best examples -- and are at each other's throat half of the time.--->'''[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090504 Agatha]]:''' "Oh, I see where this is going. [...] ''I'm'' the bad guy, because, for whatever reason, ''you'' didn't tell your ''nasty little friend'' who you ''are'', and now she's ''sad''. So you're mad at ''me'' because ''now'' she's all sweet and teary and needs ''rescuing'', and ''I'M'' the evil madgirl with the death ray and the freakish ancestors and the town full of minions and the horde of [[SuperSoldier Jägers]] and the homicidal castle full of sycophantic evil geniuses and fun-sized hunter-killer monster clanks and ''goodness know what else''--([[BeatPanel pause]])...And you know what? I CAN WORK WITH THAT!"** As an even earlier example -- albeit with a good touch of BewareTheNiceOnes -- here the very first time Gil realizes this and achieves a crowning speech of awesome (If such a trope exists?):---> '''[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080229 Gil]]:''' "I am '''sick to death''' of this! What do I have to '''do'''?! I just took down an entire army of war clanks, and '''still''' get treated like a '''halfwit child!''' [...] '''Always''', I try to be '''reasonable'''. To be '''fair'''. I try to '''talk''' to people. And no one '''ever''' takes it as anything other than '''weakness'''. [...] Because nobody ever '''takes me seriously -''' unless I shout and threaten like a cut-rate '''stage villain.''' Well, you know '''what?''' I can '''do''' crazy. I '''really can'''. And it looks like I'm going to '''have''' to. [...] And show you '''idiots''' what kind of madboy you're '''really dealing with!''' ...Oh. Oh, no. This must be how my '''[[NecessarilyEvil father]]''' feels - '''all the time!'''"* Mike from ''[[{{Walkyverse}} It's Walky!]]'' has this in him. He comes off as a total {{Jerkass}} [[spoiler:until he sacrifices his life to save Joyce at the end. He also does several other heroic things before then, but that's the kicker.]]** When he shows up in ''Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}}'', some of the horrible things he does end up forcing other characters to confront bad aspects of themselves, making them better people overall.* Master Fei from ''HowIKilledYourMaster''* Raven, from ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', is a strict disciplinarian, quite caustic and doesn't suffer fools gladly. And will fight monsters or wizards to protect his students.* Gilgam in ''TheWaterPhoenixKing'' is the embodiment of this. Being ReallySevenHundredYearsOld is only part of the reason; it mostly seems caused by [[WonTheWarLostThePeace post-war disillusionment]] and [[WarIsHell depression,]] though he was probably always sarcastic and irreverent (he ''was'' a lawyer, after all) and being the OnlySaneMan (in his mind, at least) doesn't help.* Keroff's unnamed lieutenant in ''[[Webcomic/CrystalSun Crystal Sun]]'' refuses to empathize with Keroff, the main protagonists, or anyone really, in the name of doing what appears to immediately benefit the majority. * Aeris from ''Webcomic/VGCats''. She tends to [[DeadpanSnarker very bluntly]] berate Leo for his stupidity, but often times it's for his own good. [[http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=83 (Here's an especially classic case of this.)]] She's also implied-but-not-shown to hit Leo from time to time, but it's presumably based on a similar principle.** This varies from strip to strip though. Occasionally she will become so enraged by Leo's antics that she will go back in time to erase him from existence completely. He gets better though.* In ''ImpureBlood'', [[http://www.impurebloodwebcomic.com/Pages/Chapter007/ib041.html Elnor bluntly tells Roan]] that FantasticRacism will continue if he doesn't act civilly.* [[MessianicArchetype Rikk]] in ''Fans'' get a rather [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome epic moment]] that screams this trope when he is [[CurbstompBattle laying the smackdown]] on Keith Feddyg. It's an interesting moment, as most of the time Rikk is easily the kindest and most level-headed character in the comic.-->'''Rikk:''' Your kind always underestimates ours. You mistake good manners for timidity. You mistake self-control for passivity. So self-controlled are we that sometimes we won’t retaliate when you harm us. But if you – ANY of you – harm our loved ones – we will come at you like fanged, slavering beasts from the darkest of LSD nightmares. Believe it.* Angels in ''SlightlyDamned'' canonically tend toward good. What little we've seen of their society could be ''generously'' called a hyper-conformist borderline fascist state.* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' has a couple of examples:** Karkat Vantas is the Alternian equivalent of the descendent of the troll version of [[CrystalDragonJesus Jesus]], and Karkat himself is very, very heavily on the good side, being very devoted to his friends to an almost TeamMom-ish level at times. It is also almost impossible to have a conversation with him that does not involve him yelling colourful abuse on you.** Also, Terezi, who is obsessed with [=JUST1C3=] and who has no pity for evil, considers herself this. However, by earth standards, [[KangarooCourt the Alternian justice system]] wouldn't exactly be considered good. Terezi herself is much closer to human morality, though, and would still qualify.** Vriska also at least ''sees'' herself this way:-->'''VRISKA''': I only ever wanted to do the right thing no matter how it made people judge me-->'''VRISKA''': And you don't have to 8e a good person to 8e a hero.-->'''VRISKA''': You just have to know who you are and stay true to that.-->'''VRISKA''': So I'm going to keep fighting for people the only way I ever knew how.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]* ''Literature/{{ARCHON}}'' has this in spades. Elves for instance are described as having rebelled against their original creator because they didn't want to harm innocents, yet Arglwydd has little issue with KillItWithFire tactics and BadassPreacher Offeiriad is content to slaughter a town when they go feral and try to kill him.* Captain Hammer from ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' is a {{Superhero}} who's apparently saved the city numerous times over. He's also the world's biggest {{Jerkass}}; he only even seems to do the hero gig to earn the adulation of others and thus feed his insufferable ego, and, upon discovering the secret identity of his arch-nemesis, decides to gloat and continue dating the girl of the villain's dreams just to make him squirm instead of simply arresting him for his crimes. The first time he's ever actually ''hurt'' in the commission of his heroic duties, he runs like a scared child and spends months in therapy.* In ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'', Adam Dodd circa v3. Whilst he's supposedly ''the'' good guy of the series that doesn't stop him acting like a a complete [[{{Jerkass}} prick]] to more or less everyone.** V4's Aileen Borden seems to fit this trope so far. Being a DeadpanSnarker and somewhat of a JerkWithAHeartOfGold from the beginning, she tends to snark her way through events in the game, and does from time to time get annoyed with her allies. However, despite this, she genuinely wants to get as many people off the island as possible, gets worried about her team mates when they go missing and is relieved when they show up again, and gets upset at Announcement time, especially if someone she knows is named. Shame about her being a UnwittingPawn to [[ManipulativeBastard Aaron Hughes]]...* Corporal Erik Mahren, range officer at Whateley Academy in the WhateleyUniverse. Coarse, angry, and clinically insane after the horrors he experienced in a Black Ops group for the U.S. Defense Department, he acts like a JerkAss to the students. Except he'll do anything to keep students from being hurt on his ranges, and he was willing to be brutally ripped to pieces to save a teenage girl from killing herself.* Mandana, the Queen of Goodness from ''WebAnimation/ElementalGoddess'' is the adopted mother of the main characters (all six of them) and was/is a MagicalGirl. However, she's a royal bitch who acts rude and bitchy towards ''everyone'' she meets without any provocation, even a random person who simply said hello and asked about her day, she opted to skip out of the bill at a restaurant rather negotiate or pay, and she acts more like a thirteen-year-old AlphaBitch rather than the ''forty-year-old'' "embodiment of virtue" that she's supposed to be.* NyxCrossing: The natives help the group in episode 4, but in doing so, they severely injure one, tie them all up, go through their things, and abandon them before helping them.* ''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'', but he briefly showed some compassion in the ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' review by letting Kyle Justin sit on the couch.** And in the R.O.B. episode, he single-handedly [[spoiler:defeated R.O.B. so that all the games in the world weren't limited to ''Gyromite'' and ''Stack-Up''.]]* ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'' may be a PsychopathicManchild with a DarkAndTroubledPast, but God help you if you were to [[BerserkButton hurt a child.]]* ''WebVideo/DemoReel''. Carl Copenhagan and [[OnlyOneName Quinn]] both have terrorist backstories and little patience for stupidity, but become part of the LonelyTogether family by the end of the second episode.* The Silver Order from ''{{Tasakeru}}'' exemplifies this trope. They feed, clothe, and shelter, and provide aid for vast numbers of Sankami's citizens in their credo to "protect life", but Gods help you if you fall outside their definition of "life"...* ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' applies this trope to almost every hero that we get to know, but usually in a way to emphasize that they are only flawed humans with incredible abilities and more attention paid to them than normal people. It doesn't help that most people acquire powers by going through an incredibly traumatic event. [[spoiler:The heroes who gain powers from Cauldron fall even harder into this trope.]]** Armsmaster/[[spoiler:Defiant]] is probably the most prominent example. He's arrogant, abrasive, unempathetic and socially-maladjusted. He's willing to [[spoiler:take advantage of a truce to engineer the deaths of villains who are at least temporarily his allies in the name of the greater good.]] And yet he genuinely cares about helping people and doing the right thing, and he proves willing to at least try and improve on his interpersonal failings despite continuously falling short.* On Website/{{Tumblr}}, this is how anti-whitewashing, anti-[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation cultural appropriation]] blogs see themselves. These blogs exist to call out UnfortunateImplications, support diversity in fiction and educate people about the negative sides of cultural appropriation, but they are generally known in the community to be rude and condescending in their responses to people sending them questions (even if most of these are InnocentlyInsensitive). * In ''WebAnimation/MadnessCombat'' we have Jesus (aka Jebus). His title in episode 5 is "The Savior", he wears a supernatural halo, controls life and death (primarily in the form of zombies), tries to bring justice to the wicked, opposes the satanic [[BigBad Auditor]], and only fights against the protagonist Hank on the grounds that Hank is a dangerous criminal guilty of murdering law enforcement officers. However, his method of "Justice" is more or less JudgeJuryAndExecutioner.* Weiss Schnee of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' is a metaphorical and literal IceQueen and AcademicAlphaBitch who has [[FantasticRacism bigoted opinions on Faunas]] (with a good FreudianExcuse thrown in though) and generally speaks to others with a snarky, derisive tone. She's still one of the good guys, however, and [[CharacterDevelopment she's not quite nice yet but she's getting there]]. Yang would also count: she's the resident TeamMom, but her occasionally terrifying BloodKnight tendencies would raise a few eyebrows with some people, not to mention, to paraphrase WordOfGod, her idea of teaching someone how to swim is shoving them into the deep end, but at least being ready to jump in if need be.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]* Slag, from the original G1 ''{{Transformers}}'', is incredibly mean and nasty, will even attack his own comrades if they irritate him . . . and an Autobot. No one is even sure why he is even an Autobot at all, though it is implied here and there (memory fails as to specifics) that it is loyalty to his Dinobot teammates that keeps him around.** Hell, all the Dinobots with the exception of Swoop and Sludge. None of them really like Optimus Prime for starters. Grimlock himself would gladly [[TheStarscream pull a Starscream]] if he could get away with it.** Cross-universal consensus on this is that the Dinobots consider Optimus "soft", which usually results in Prime demonstrating this trope [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority on Grimlock's head]]. That doesn't mean they consider a tyrannical dictatorship under Megatron or wanton murder to be good ideas.* Lampooned in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "In Marge We Trust", where this Trope even applies to martyred Saints:-->'''Reverend Lovejoy:''' Hmmm. I'm a shepherd without a flock. ''(looks skyward)'' What have I done to lose them? -->'''St. Eleutherius''' ''(comes to life in a stained glass window, surrounded by a bright light): The real question is: What have you done to ''keep'' them? -->'''Reverend Lovejoy''' ''(gasps)'' St. Eleutherius of Nicomedia! -->'''St. Eleutherius:''' That's my name, don't wear it out. -->'''St. Bartholomew:''' To inspire men, you must be brave. I introduced Christianity to Mongolia. It didn't take, but it was worth a try. -->'''St. Lucian:''' Tell us, good Reverend, what great deeds have you done to inspire the hearts of men? -->'''Reverend Lovejoy:''' Well, I had the vestibule recarpeted. -->'''St. Donickus''' ''(angry)'': I've appeared in over eight thousand visions, and that's the lamest reply I've ever heard!-->'''Reverend Lovejoy:''' Oh, now please, I, I thought saints were supposed to be friendly. -->'''St. Donickus:''' You ... you're just lucky God isn't here.* Sentinel Prime from ''TransformersAnimated''. He's technically a good guy, but is also a {{Jerkass}} who [[FantasticRacism hates organics]] and is willing to work with [[PsychoForHire Lockdown]] in order to defeat the Decepticons* Primus, {{God}}-ancestor of all Cybertronians in ''{{Transformers}}'' who is in the background of every subseries and universe, exhibits this quite well. His goal is to ensure that the multiverse is still here tomorrow, and will often make life quite difficult or unpleasant for mortals in the process if it is necessary for the greater good.* Scrooge [=McDuck=] of Disney comics (such as ones by CarlBarks and Creator/DonRosa) and adaptations such as ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales'' [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules will never resort to illegal or underhanded means to make money]] (The [[MyGreatestFailure one time he did]], he ended up [[CantGetAwayWithNuthin haunted by a zombie for several years]] - and [[SinsOfOurFathers Donald got chased as well several decades afterward.]]), but neither [[{{Greed}} will he donate a single penny to charity.]] He'll give you a (''really'' low-paying) job at the drop of a hat, though.** DonaldDuck too. Especially when he's put in a blatantly heroic role, such as the ''KingdomHearts'' series. He might be selfish and temperamental, but when you get right down to it, he's nothing if not loyal to his friends.* WesternAnimation/BlinkyBill and his friends are sometimes considered to be worse than the Dingos. Considering that he was "toned down greatly" in the cartoon, compared to his literary incarnation, he must have been a real JerkAss in the books...* Mr. Krabs from ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' can be quite the greedy, selfish jerk, even risking the lives of his fellow employee's just for the sake of making a quick buck, [[DesignatedHero but is still considered a good guy]].* There was a cutaway gag in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' where Peter encounters Kenneth, [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold the bad-ass mail clerk with a heart of gold.]] Peter is then told by another employee that said clerk donated half his paycheck to orphans with diseases.* From ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', [[spoiler: post-HeelFaceTurn Prince Zuko]] has shades of this. He's only slightly friendlier than he was in the first season. There's also Aang (when he gets pissed, he turns into a cold, ruthless CreepyChild with GlowingEyesOfDoom and the VoiceOfTheLegion), Katara (who has shown a nasty, vengeful side when someone wrongs the people she loves), and Toph (a DeadpanSnarker who cons several Fire Nation citizens and [[spoiler:sinks a zeppelin full of Fire Nation soldiers in the finale]]).* From the SequelSeries, ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', we have Lin Beifong, daughter of Toph and chief of the metalbending police. She can come off as overly harsh at times and appears to be a total hardass. However, she is unquestionably a good person who is trying to keep the peace and protect the innocent. [[spoiler:This is made only more clear by her HeroicSacrifice in episode 10 which cost her her bending.]]** The spirit Raava can also be considered this: whenever Aang went on his rampages in ATLA, Raava was probably 'holding the controls.' This includes annihilating the Fire Navy, as well as her apathy towards Wan in "Beginnings."* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' has this in spades. Usually Kyle or Stan fits this, particularly when Cartman is the antagonist.** The BigDamnMovie, ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'', has "Ze Mole." A huge {{Jerkass}} to everyone, who spews obscenities about God frequently, and goes on about how childish and naive the other boys are, but he still joins the boys to help Terrence and Phillip in the name of freedom [[spoiler:and dies in the process. He does get better thanks to the ResetButton, though he's never had a major appearance since.]]* On ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'', Dib is the HeroAntagonist who wants to save the human race from an evil alien monster. And he often makes it clear that he ''will'' enjoy [[TheyWouldCutYouUp taking part in that alien's autopsy]].* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda'' portrays Zelda as considerably unaffectionate; one episode has [[SpotTheImposter Link distinguishing between the real Zelda and the fake one]] by setting up a kissing contest in which Zelda's evil twin eagerly kisses him whereas Zelda herself slaps him in the face. Link assumes the real Zelda to be the one who slapped him.* Raphael in all incarnations of the ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles''. He's cool but rude. (As he himself puts it, "I don't do nice!")** Casey Jones is like this in roughly half the incarnations. (For the other half, he's more a KnightTemplar.)* Skipper from ''ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'' is supposed to be the main protagonist, but he's pretty coarse and violent even on his comrades.-->'''Alligator''': That looks as if it could be violent.-->'''Skipper''': If done correctly.* Huey Freeman from ''TheBoondocks''. Although he has good intentions in building a greater American society, he is quite cynical, pessimistic, cantankerous, and has been labeled -- not unjustifiably -- as a "domestic terrorist".* Benson from ''RegularShow''. He may be constantly angry and constantly threatening to fire Mordecai and Rigby, but all he's really doing is his job. Plus, he's actually pretty friendly when things aren't out of hand.* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': Detective Harvey Bullock, though especially in the episode, "A Bullet For Bullock". He may be an oafish, uncouth, unpleasant cop who doesn't like the dark knight, but he is one of the few decent, completely uncorrupted cops in the Gotham PD.* Spinelli from ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'' is hot-tempered, cynical, and has a violent streak, but is still a good friend to the rest of the main characters.* Hefty as the Smurf Of Christmas Future in ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSmurfsAChristmasCarol The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol]]'' leaves Grouchy in the BadFuture where all the Smurfs are captured to be chased after by Gargamel and Azrael.* In varying degrees, almost any hero on the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' except for Wally, J'onn, and in ''Unlimited'', Dove. Especially Hawkgirl.* In ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', the Scotsman is Jack's closest ally and probably the closest thing he has to a friend in the future world. He's ''really'' not nice. In fact, he's downright rude. * Major Monogram from ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''. He's dedicated to fighting the forces of evil, but he's not a very nice person, especially to Carl, his unpaid intern.* [[spoiler:Chad Dickson, f.k.a. Numbuh 274]] was so devoted to the cause of the [[WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor Kids Next Door]] that he [[spoiler:willingly turned traitor and smeared his good name in order to serve as a spy. That does not detract from the fact that he became a jerk as his jealousy for Numbuh 1 consumed him. Eventually, he is so driven by his envy that he tries to kill Nigel in his final appearance on the penultimate episode of the show, despite still being loyal to the organization as a whole]].[[/folder]]

----%% On a sidenote, real-life examples are not recommended. See the following thread if you want to ask if your example is worth adding: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=gtlus332irgx88syr3fbtmpy&page=1#3